Something else
by The Halfbloofprincess
Summary: What could possibly take Oliver Wood's mind off Quidditch? With a little help from his friends he is about to find out. Katie/Oliver.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, I haven't been writing for a while but I decided to pick it up again since Summer Break had finally come :) This is a rewritten version of the story 'Something Else' that I posted about two/three years ago. I hope there are still some Katie/Oliver fans out there! Reviews are highly appreciated! **

**Something else **

Oliver Wood was fumbling his fingers through his dark brown hair as he was standing in front of the mirror. He didn't even see what he was doing. His mind was set on one thing and one thing only: Quidditch. This was his last chance to finally win the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup. Oliver couldn't even begin to describe how much he wanted to win. How he would hold the shiny Cup up in the air while the Slytherins could do nothing more than watch. Man, what he would give to wipe that smug look off of Flint's face.

'Darling, are you almost ready?' Oliver's Mum was standing on his doorstep, watching him.

Oliver nodded. 'I'm all set.'

His Mum smiled and walked over to him. She pulled him close to her, messing his hair up again. 'I can't believe it's your last year already,' she said softly.

Oliver groaned. 'Is this going to be one of those sentimental talks about me growing up so fast? Because if it is, I might want to sit down so you can take your time.'

His mother laughed. 'Give me a break! My only son is graduating this year. I'm just very proud of you.'

Oliver smiled. 'I'll do you proud, Mum. Once I can show you the pictures of me winning the Cup.'

Mrs. Wood shook her head. 'God, you remind me of your father sometimes. Just as crazy about the game as you are. Just remember: there are other things important besides Quidditch. Such as graduating. Don't go lacking behind.'

Oliver grinned. 'We'll see about that. Anyway, we should get going, it's 10:45 already, the Express will leave in a couple of minutes.'

Oliver and Mrs. Wood took their wands and both started spinning on the spot. When Oliver opened his eyes again they were standing on a crowded platform 9 3/4. The train was already fuming and all the students of Hogwarts were saying goodbye to their families.

Oliver looked around him to see if he could find any of his friends. They were probably in the Express already.  
>'Well, Mum-' Oliver stopped in his tracks when he noticed two girls were pointing at him and giggling frantically. He cleared his throat, feeling awkward.<p>

His mother stroke her hand against his cheek. She smiled affectionately.

'Just like your father,' she said again, nodding at the girls. 'Quite popular with the ladies.'

Oliver quickly shook his head. 'No, it's-'

'Why, my dear Oliver, there's no denying that!' A familiar voice called from behind them. 'Old Wood knows how to let those hearts skip a beat.' Fred Weasley came walking towards them, followed by his twin brother George.

'Hello Mrs. Wood.' George bent down and kissed Mrs. Wood's hand. 'Always a pleasure to see you.'

Mrs. Wood smiled at the twins and wrapped them tightly in a hug. 'My dear boys,' she said. 'Will you make sure to look after Oliver a bit?'

'Mum, come on!' Oliver bellowed. 'I'm older than them!'

'Ah, and still you can learn so many, many things from us, Ol.' Fred patted his shoulder. 'Is it OK if we steal him away Mrs. Wood? We sure like a comfortable compartment.'

'You go right ahead, ' Mrs. Wood said. 'Now Oliver, make sure to write me as often as you can. And please: go easy on that Quidditch business of yours.'

'You know I will and you know I won't.' Oliver kissed his mother on the cheek before stepping onto the Hogwarts Express with Fred and George. They entered the first empty compartment they could find and all ploughed down.

'So let's get to business,' said George as he threw his bag under his seat. 'Any action with beautiful Françaises on the Eiffel Tower or what?'

Just as Oliver rolled his eyes at this, their compartment door opened again. Tom, Oliver's roommate and one of his best friends was grinning madly at them all.

'Look who's back!' He yelled and he shook all of their hands. 'Man, I'm psyched!' Tom said enthusiastically. He sat down next to Oliver. 'A whole new year ahead of us. Ah, the beauty of it all.'

Tom had been Oliver's friend since their first day at Hogwarts. The blonde boy was known to have a way with the ladies but he was a good guy, really.

'So how have you been? Tell me about your summer.'

'Well actually, we were just asking Oliver about his holiday in France. We've been wondering if he had been getting some lip locking action,' Fred said.

'Yeah, real nice guys,' Oliver said. 'But I'm going to have to disappoint you. The Eiffel Tower did have a very nice view though.'

'Really, of someone's-'

'Of _Paris, _Tom. Thanks very much.'

Oliver sighed inwardly. Barely minutes had passed and all his friends could talk about was hot girls. Again. Oliver always tried to avoid these conversations, feeling not comfortable with the subject at all. And having not too much to say about it either.

'What about you, Tom?' George asked. 'Had some fun in Spain?'

Tom held up his hands over his head. 'Hey, I don't kiss and tell.'

'No, you don't have to, you just make out with everyone in public,' Oliver laughed.

'There, my friend,' Tom said, 'you may have a point.'

Meanwhile, the train had started moving and platform 9 3/4 was slowly disappearing behind them. Oliver leaned forward to grab his bag. He ruffled through it and took out his playbook. Fred and George were eyeing him closely.

'You're kidding me, right?' Fred blurted out. 'Quidditch already? We're not even out of London yet!'

Oliver shrugged. 'Quidditch knows not time or place is you're truly dedicated.' He opened up the book which was full of scrabbled words and drawings. He just took out a quill and some ink to write something down when Tom snatched the playbook out of Oliver's hands and threw it out of the compartment door.

'NO!' Oliver screamed. 'ARE YOU MENTAL!' He fell, crawling to the door, grasping the book from the hallway. He slapped Tom hard on the head.

'For all you know Davies or Flint could have walked by! They could have stolen all my plays! Don't you understand? I _need_ to win the Cup!'

Tom was rubbing the spot on his head where Oliver had hit him. Then he shook his head. 'I thought you were already losing it last year. Oh, how wrong I was...'

Fred and George, who had been watching their friends, stood up and solemnly put both their hands together in front of them.

'Oliver Wood, this is an intervention,' Fred spoke. 'You have got to relax a bit.'

'Fred and I have already been expecting maniacal actions on your part, so us geniuses have come up with a solution.' George paused for a while to create a dramatic effect. Tom was looking up at the twins with great interest.

George cleared his throat. 'We have decided you should have a girlfriend.'

Oliver threw his head back and heaved a heavy sigh. Not this again.

'Wow guys,' he said in a sarcastic tone, 'you haven't made this decision for about a month now! Congrats on the record.'

'No, no, no!' Tom was saying, waving his hands frantically as if to catch their attention. Which wasn't really hard considering the fact they were in a small compartment. 'That is actually a _very _good idea!'

Oliver couldn't help but laugh at this. As if Tom had never heard of this idea before, it was one of his friends favorite hobbies trying to figure out which girl would be perfect for him. A very annoying hobby if he may add.

Just at that moment their compartment door opened again. A very bewildered-looking Katie Bell was standing in front of the four friends. Oliver noticed that his Chaser had grown from beautiful to stunning over the summer.

'Hey Katie, how was your sum-'

'The plays!' Katie interrupted Tom, looking at Oliver. 'Are they safe? I heard you screaming just now. Please tell me you still have them!'

Oliver's mouth curled into a smile. Such passion for the game, Katie had. He held up the playbook that was still lying in his lap. 'Everything fine,' he stated.

'What happened? Don't tell me it was you, Tom,' Katie said.

'Well, actually - OUCH!' Tom screamed as Katie stomped him on the exact same spot as Oliver had done.

'Are you a Gryffindor or what! I'd rather die than see that Cup in Snape's office for yet another year.' Katie shuddered at the thought alone.

'Exactly my thoughts, Bell,' Oliver said.

'Well, it certainly is nice to see you again,' Tom grumbled from his position next to Oliver. He was rubbing the terrorized spot on his head again. 'Damned Quidditch players.'

Katie laughed. Oliver thought it sounded like Christmas bells. Or a waterfall, maybe.

'I'm sorry, Tom.' Katie walked towards him and gave him a hug. That seemed to shut Tom up. Oliver could smell a flowery scent coming from Katie as she stood up straight again, it smelled pretty good.

'Anyway, has any of you by any chance seen Angelina? I've been looking all over for her.' Katie asked.

Fred grasped his chest theatrically. 'Oh, if only I'd have had the pleasure of seeing her. What a woman...'

Katie tilted her head. 'And when exactly were you going to ask her out again, Fred? '

'I do not wish to hear those comments of you,' Fred mumbled, becoming slightly red.

'HA!' George pointed at his brother. 'Could you get any redder?'

Katie smiled and began walking backwards. 'Right then, I'll see you guys at Hogwarts!' She winked and walked out of their compartment.

Tom immediately stomped Oliver's shoulder. 'Whoa!'

'Hey!' Oliver protested. 'What was that for?'

'What was that for? What do you think!' Tom asked incredulously. 'Didn't you see her wink at you? She wants you, man.'

The twins nodded eagerly.

'Sorry, what?' Oliver asked in complete surprise. 'You're kidding me, right?'

Neither one of them looked as if they actually were kidding.

'She was winking at everyone _in general, _you morons.'

Fred, George and Tom ignored him. They were all looking at each other. Oliver was wondering if they had some weird Occlumency thing going on or something.

Then they all began to smirk.

'So, we have agreed then?' George finally said.

'Definitely.' Tom and Fred nodded.

Oliver looked at them in bewilderment. 'Er, excuse me? Agreed on what?'

'Katie Bell,' Tom said matter-of-factly. 'Your soon to be girlfriend.'

Oliver groaned. This was going to be a long ride.


	2. Chapter 2

**A special thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it! Feel very free to do it again **

'Oooooliver…'

He was vaguely aware of the fact that someone was whispering in his ear…

'Oooliver..'

God, did it look like he was awake? He turned on his other side and tried to continue sleeping.

'OLIVER!'

'Woah!' Oliver was sitting straight up in his bed now, definitely awake. While he looked around to see who caused him to wake up so brutally, he saw George grinning at him.

'Well, good morning, sunshine,' he said, still grinning mischievously.

'What the hell do you think you're doing, George?' Oliver snapped. He shook his brown hair out of his eyes. The only good reason to wake up early was Quidditch and he had a feeling that was not the reason why George had woken him up. Oliver looked around his dormitory. His roommates Tom and Percy seemed to be gone. What time was it anyway?

'George, is he up yet?' A girl's voice suddenly called from down the stairs. Footsteps were drawing nearer. Then the door opened and Oliver's Chaser Katie Bell entered the room.

'Hey Oliver, what's going on?' Katie asked, taking in the room. 'George told me you wanted to –'

'It's time for me to leave now!' George interrupted. He quickly moved backwards, practically running. Oliver and Katie heard him stumbling and falling down the stairs, combined with groans of pain.

Katie started laughing. It was a really good laugh, Oliver thought to himself as he was still lying in his bed. She had perfectly straight, white teeth and the sound of it was just… nice. It was a laugh that would make him want to be humorous so he could hear it again. But he shouldn't be thinking about that right now…

'So Captain,' Katie sat down on Oliver's bed. He could feel his mattress sink in a bit from Katie's weight. 'How have you been?' she asked.

Oliver gave her a startled look. What was going on here? He was suddenly very much aware of the fact that he was only wearing boxers.

'Er, I'm fine Bell, how are you?'

'Good. Please stop calling me Bell, I don't like the sound of it.' Katie put a string of her shiny brown hair behind her ear.

'Katie, I hate to ask, but what are you doing here?' He had known Katie for quite some time now, being her captain, but she'd never been up here before. Oliver was pleased all his stuff was still in his trunk, otherwise his part of the room would probably be the mess it usually was. Somewhat like the mess Tom had already managed to produce in one night, Oliver noticed, looking at his friend's part of the dormitory.

'I thought you wanted to see me,' Katie said. 'At least, that's what George told me.'

'Right…' Oliver was wrecking his brain. Did he need to discuss some Quidditch business with Katie? Maybe he could work with her on her right throw, but he didn't really recall speaking to George about this.

Katie smiled. 'Obviously you have no idea what I'm doing here. George was probably just messing around, as usual.'

Oliver nodded slowly as realization hit him, remembering their conversation the day earlier on the Hogwarts Express. He had experienced this before, his friends trying to couple him up. It had never worked though. All those girls just seemed so… _eager_ to him. And brainless. If there was anything Oliver thought was really unattractive, it was stupidity. If Tom had a say in it though, he would pick a girl that was extremely good looking and didn't have pretty much anything to say. What a romantic guy he was.

'You're right,' Oliver said. 'He's probably just messing with us.'

Katie nodded. 'Well, since I'm here now anyway, do you want to get some breakfast?' Her green eyes were staring into Oliver's.

Oliver was slightly distracted by the intensity of her look. 'Breakfast?' he said. 'You mean, er, together?'

Katie raised her eyebrows. 'Yes, I mean together. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking, right?'

Man, her eyes were green. And she was still sitting on his bed. The bed in which he lay, wearing barely any clothes. Waking up had never been more confusing.

'But,' Oliver said carefully, 'you know… We never had breakfast together before.'

He immediately felt very sorry for saying that, it sounded so stupid.

Katie threw her head back and laughed. 'Oh Oliver, you're so daft sometimes.' She stood up from his bed. 'I know we've never had breakfast together before, so don't you think it's about time that we do? You've been my captain for four years but how well do we know each other anyway? Now get up.' She held out her hand for him to take it.

Oliver took it and she pulled him out of his bed. Then Oliver remembered he was just wearing his boxers.

'Hey!' he said, 'You're not supposed to see me like this!' He quickly put on a Puddlemere United shirt.

Katie shook her head in amusement. 'You think us girls never peek in the changing rooms, you prude?'

Wait, what did she just say? Oliver felt his face become slightly red at Katie's words. He should really do something about that, make the showers a private place again. How did they manage to see something anyway?

'Oh my god, Oliver,' Katie was still laughing. 'I was just kidding. Besides, you have nothing to be worried about. As I had expected, you have a great body.'

Oliver started to feel really uncomfortable now. 'You're my Chaser,' he mumbled. 'You shouldn't be expecting or thinking about these things.'

Katie rolled her eyes. 'Just put on some pants so we can get going.'

'Ah, that phrase sounds all too familiar.' Tom had walked into the room, grinning like a madman. As Oliver put on some pants he could see Tom looking at Katie, taking in her appearance. It sort of irritated him.

'Let's go, Bell.' He clapped Tom on the shoulder in a way of greeting him.

'After you, Captain.'

'You're doing great, Oliver!' Tom yelled after them. 'Just remember to keep breathing!'

God, why was he friends with him again?

'What is he talking about?' Katie asked as they stepped through the portrait hole.

'You should ignore most of the things Tom says, really. He's just being stupid.' Oliver hoped she would leave it at that and stopped asking. Obviously Katie sensed that he didn't want to talk about it as she changed the subject.

'We should hurry up,' she said. 'Those bloody first years always eat my waffles.

Oliver actually agreed with her on that matter. The first years got out of their beds so goddamn early to eat all the good stuff. There were only so many waffles the House elves could make. Thinking about this, he started walking faster.

As Katie and Oliver sat down at the Gryffindor table, Oliver put as many food as he could on his plate and eagerly started eating.

'Are you hungry?' Katie asked, amused.

'I always seem to be hungry,' Oliver answered.

'Well, it's a good thing you're such a Quidditch star then, to maintain your excellent figure.' She smiled up at him.

Oliver slowly swallowed. Was she… flirting with him? Before he could think about that possibility, Fred yelled his name from across the table.

'Oliver, I see you're immediately taking some action! Nice job, man.'

Oliver shot him a death glare. His friends were being everything but subtle and he certainly didn't want Katie to get any wrong ideas about him. She would surely be thinking weird things now. He quickly refilled his plate again.

'So, I have practice scheduled for tomorrow morning,' he said.

'Have you been discussing me, Oliver?' Katie asked, ignoring his remark about Quidditch. 'You're friends are being very… suggestive.'

There you had it. How was he going to explain this? All he knew was that Fred and George were looking at the toughest practice of their lives the next morning.

'You should ignore them. They just had the stupid idea of me having a girlfriend and now they continue to torture me. But really, it's nothing.' He waved his hand as though it all didn't matter.

'A girlfriend, huh?' Katie snatched the last waffle away from a first year who had just reached out to get it. Katie smiled triumphantly at him. 'Already have an eye on someone?'

Oliver laughed as Katie started to eat her waffle, the first year looking very angry. 'Well, er, I don't think I need a girlfriend actually,' he then said. 'I have enough on my mind already.'

'Wait a minute…' Katie said slowly, looking in Fred's direction and then back at Oliver again. 'That's why George told me you wanted to see me, isn't it? Am I a possible candidate or something?'

'They were just being stupid,' Oliver said. 'I had nothing to do with it. Just forget it, please.'

Katie looked intently at him. 'So you wouldn't date me?'

'Wuh?'

There was that smile again and Oliver got really distracted. How come he had never noticed how beautiful she was before?

'You heard me, Oliver.'

'If you want me to ask you out, just say so.'

Katie rolled her eyes and focused on her waffles again.

'Sorry Bell,' Oliver continued. 'I just don't do dates.'

'Never?' Katie said, looking up at him again. 'And stop calling me Bell.'

'No, never. And I'm sorry, _Katherine._ Katie winced at the sound of her full name.

'Yeah, get used to it. That's what I'm calling you from now on,' Oliver said.

'And why exactly would you do that again?' Katie pointed her fork at him.

'Because it annoys you.'

Katie laughed and pushed him. Oliver tried to maintain his balance, but he fell of the bench anyway. He was surprised at how strong she was, he would definitely not want to fight her. Not that he got into a fight that often. As he lay there on the ground, Oliver thought of the one time he had ever gotten into a fight. He was in his third year and it was with Marcus Flint. They were fighting over Quidditch of course, and they had both ended up in the Hospital Wing. Oliver still thought he had won the fight. Although Flint had broken Oliver's nose, he had done Flint some pretty good damage on his-

'Err, I'm sorry to interrupt you, Oliver, but you might do well by standing up.'

It was only then that Oliver realized he had been lying on the floor the whole time and a lot of people were looking at him. 'I fell, get over it,' he said to them.

Katie held out her hand and pulled him up. Her hand felt really soft and small in Oliver's rough Keeper's hands.

'Well Katherine, it pleases me to see you're still in good shape after the summer. We could use some strong throws on the field.'

Katie shook her head, her radiant smile never disappearing from her face.

'Oliver Wood, you are priceless,' she said.

_And you are truly beautiful, _Oliver thought to himself, slapping himself mentally at the same time. She was his Chaser, he wasn't supposed to find her attractive.

Fred was standing up from his seat on the Gryffindor table and walked over to Katie and Oliver. 'This just in,' he said conspiratorially. 'Next Friday there's an opening of the year party in the Room of Requirement. Everyone's coming.'

George and Tom had walked into their conversation, entering the Great Hall.

'Excellent!' Tom said, rubbing his hands together. 'Are you guys coming too?'

'Of course, I wouldn't want to miss it,' Katie said.

Everyone was looking at Oliver expectantly.

'Err, I guess.' He said.

He immediately regretted it. He absolutely hated parties. Everyone was getting drunk and all these girls were circling around him, all doing some sort of dance off with each other, trying to catch his attention. It was living hell to Oliver. He especially got very irritated when he saw how much his Quidditch team was drinking. Those amounts of alcohol would certainly damage their health, which meant it would damage their game. And he was not prepared to lose the Cup to Slytherin again. So maybe it was a good thing he was coming. This way he could keep an eye on his teammates.

'Good that you're coming man,' Fred said.

'Yeah, but just so you know,' Oliver addressed Fred, George and Katie. 'I'm having a practice scheduled the next morning at 8:00. You better be there, no excuses.'

'What? No, you can't do that!' George called out.

'Why not? My team has to be fit!'

'I think it's an excellent idea,' Tom said cheerfully.

'Yeah, because you're not on the team. But hey, I'm fine with it. We'll just feed Oliver drunk and see if he's still planning on having practice the next morning,' Fred said.

'Yeah, you just gave away the plan, you idiot.' George smacked him on the head.

'That will never work, guys,' Oliver said, standing up. 'I'm going to have to go, I still have some plays that need to be perfected. I'll see you guys later. Bye Katie.'

Katie smiled at the use of her proper first name. 'Bye Oliver, it was nice talking to you.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Special thanks to the reviewers again, you make me very happy! Had to drag this chapter out of myself, but here goes ;) **

**Hope you enjoy! **

Chapter 3 

Oliver was pacing around the Quidditch field. The grass was still wet from the night before. It was 6:15 on Thursday morning, his team would soon arrive for their third Quidditch practice of the year. Oliver looked up at the great field lying in front of him and thought of his Dad. His father had died in the war against Voldemort, fighting the Death Eaters. Although Oliver had only been four years old, his father was the one who taught him to love the game. He had been the one who put him on a broom and encouraged him to fly. Not a day had passed by that he hadn't been thankful for that.

Oliver sighed as he thought about the two previous practices. They had been really tough on some of the members of the team. Only Katie and Harry seemed to have been practicing over summer. It irritated Oliver very much, he had made everyone work even harder. Fred and George were definitely taking it personal, they had ignored him for the rest of the night after yesterday's practice.

When Oliver looked towards the castle, he could see four figures approaching. As they came closer he saw it were Katie, Alicia, Angelina and Harry.

'Good morning, Oliver,' Angelina yawned. 'Practice before lessons start. Always been my fave.'

'Where are Fred and George?' Oliver asked.

'Er...' Alicia shifted her feet uncomfortably, not daring to look at Oliver. 'Don't get to mad, please. Because they kind of have a point...'

'Alicia!' Katie snapped, shooting her friend an angry look. 'They have no point whatsoever! They're just being unreasonable and not to mention annoying. They should know what their place is, and that is on the field, practicing.' Katie was folding her arms over her chest, still looking angry.

Oliver looked at her and tried to fight a smile. She looked pretty cute.

'Katie, come on!' Angelina now said. 'It is _so _early.'

Oliver was beginning to have a feeling what this was about. 'Could someone please tell me what is going on then?'

'Fred and George are under protest,' Katie said, disgust draining from her voice. 'They are under the impression it's too early to have practice. I believe they said "that Quaffle-obsessed git should cut them some slack". To make a long story short, they're just not man enough to own up to their responsibilities.'

Angelina and Alicia were giving Katie an angry look, probably because she was talking badly about their crushes, Oliver thought.

He really liked the fire in Katie's eyes as she was ranting about the twins though.

But Fred and George thought they could just skip practice? They actually thought he was going to let them get away with that? In his last year, in the name of Merlin, they finally must have officially lost their minds. He was getting sick of his team not taking this serious. If they wanted to win this, full commitment was needed. And he was going to make sure they were committing.

'Alright then,' Oliver said. 'Spinnet and Johnson, get the Quaffle out and try to score each other. Potter, get a golf ball and practice your diving skills. Katie, you're coming with me.' He started walking.

Katie looked startled. 'Oliver?' she asked as she followed him. 'Where are we going again?'

'Off to tell those gits what a serious business Quidditch is.' Oliver answered.

'Right. I like that,' Katie said. 'Or you know...' she hesitated for a moment.

'Or what?' Oliver stopped to face her.

Katie shrugged. 'Maybe we could teach them a real lesson.'

Oliver grinned. He definitely liked where this was going. 'What did you have in mind then?'

'Hmm..' Katie was stroking her hair as she was thinking. 'I think a classic "mattress in the lake" will do. And maybe some pink accessorizing. You know, just to look horrible with their hair color.'

Oliver looked at her in amazement. This girl truly was something else, why hadn't he ever noticed before? Probably because they had never quite spoken to each other all that much. But really, her looks, her love for Quidditch and her humor... She was... his Chaser. Right. Katie Bell was his perfectly dedicated Chaser.

'Mattress in the lake?' Oliver then asked, still a bit distracted. What was up with his mind anyway?

Katie smiled. 'Come on, I'll show you.'

Oliver followed her into the castle, watching her long brown hair waving behind her.

'It really irritates me that the rest of the team doesn't seem to care about whether we win the Cup or not,' Katie then said. 'I mean, I _really _want it. And I have a feeling you do too.' She smiled up at him. 'I like your intensity, Oliver. A man going after his goal, it's very attractive.'

Oliver couldn't resist a smile. Katie seemed to be the only one who thought about it like that, the only one who didn't keep telling him that he was obsessed. Although he wasn't sure that he wasn't obsessed, really. And had she just called him attractive?

'I totally agree with you, Katie. Especially on the attractive part.'

Katie laughed and practically pushed him through the portrait hole, making Oliver stumble into the common room. There was no one there to see it anyway, since it was still so early.

'Wait a minute, I'll be right back,' Katie said, running up the stairs to her dormitory. She returned within a minute, holding a small flask filled with a pink potion.

She held it up in the air to show Oliver. 'Sleeping potion. A strong one. This will keep them asleep for some time so we can easily put our plan into action.'

Oliver raised his eyebrows. 'Where did you get that?' He looked at the potion. White smoke was coming off of it, but it looked rather tasty.

Katie shrugged. 'I sometimes use it when I can't sleep. It looks pretty good, doesn't it?' she added as she saw Oliver staring. 'You're not getting any though, I want my captain to be fit right now.'

Oliver grinned. 'Fine then, I'm just going to have to resist the temptation. But don't you think that couch by the fire looks very appealing?'

Katie stomped his shoulder. 'You're the one that got us up so early, you can get cozy on that couch some other time. Now let's get going.'

They both slowly walked the stairs towards the twin's dormitory, trying to be as quiet as possible. Oliver carefully opened the door and looked around the room. It was a complete mess, there were clothes and boxes filled with articles from the twin's little prank-business lying everywhere. Fred and George were both snoring on the other side of the room, their friend Lee Jordan was fast asleep in the bed next to the door.

Katie gently placed her hand on Oliver's side as she passed him through the door opening, causing an electric shock going through Oliver's body. He decided to ignore that fact and slowly walked towards the twins as well.

It was a good thing their mouths were already open, all Katie had to do was pour in the pink fluid. Fred and George both eagerly swallowed the potion in their sleep.

_'Good job,' _Oliver mouthed, still not trying to wake Lee Jordan.

Katie took the covers off Fred's bed and Oliver did the same to George. Katie had to clap her hand in front of her mouth in order to keep herself from laughing out loud. The twins were wearing the exact same boxers: all red with _Wednesday _written on them, probably made by their Mom. Oliver had to do his best as well, trying to keep himself from laughing. He took out his wand, whispered _Wingardium Leviosa _and started walking.

XXXX

'Oh dear Merlin, this is the best thing I've ever seen. Ever!' Ron Weasley yelled.

It was 8.35, the lessons would begin in ten minutes but practically the whole school was standing outside by the lake, watching the Weasley twins float in the water in their underwear, still sound asleep.

'They should wake up any minute now,' Katie whispered to Oliver. They had returned from practice to watch the twins wake up. Oliver had to hand it to Katie, it was a very good idea. Even Alicia and Angelina seemed to find it very amusing.

'Have I told you that you're a genius Katie Bell?' Oliver said.

'You may have, but I can handle a few more times.'

Right at that moment Fred slowly seemed to be waking up. Everyone was keeping quiet to see what would happen next.

Fred opened his eyes, writhed and then fell in the Lake with a loud scream.

This waked his brother up as well. George yelled as he woke up, but managed to stay on his mattress. 'What the hell!'

Fred swam over to his brother, took him by his arm and dragged him down into the lake.

'It's not just going to be me!' he screamed.

Everyone was roaring with laughter and several pictures were being made. Oliver was literally gasping for air.

'What is going on here!'

Professor McGonagall emerged from the crowd and looked at the scene in the lake. Fred and George were now making their way back to the shore, swimming as fast as they could. Their hair was all wet and was plastered against their immensely red faces. Oliver could've sworn he could see a flash of a smile behind McGonagall's stern look. She was walking towards the twins and helped them get out of the water.

'Who is responsible for this?' she said, looking around at all the students.

'Him!' Fred and George yelled at the same time, pointing at Oliver.

'He's mental! Him and his beloved Quidditch, look what it's making him do!'

McGonagall was walking towards Oliver now, water dripping from the arms of her cloak.

'Wood, detention. And 50 points from Gryffindor. You're coming with me now.' She grabbed Oliver's elbow and started walking away.

'No wait, Professor!' Katie called from behind them. 'It wasn't Oliver's fault, I came up with the plan, he didn't do anything.'

Professor McGonagall turned around and sighed. 'Really, Bell? Already? It's your first week back, for Merlin's sake.'

Katie shrugged and smiled apologetically. 'It was kind of worth it though.' She started following the Head of Gryffindor back into the castle.

'Wait, professor!' Oliver was the one calling now. 'Katie and I did it together, she shouldn't be punished alone.' He was looking at Katie now, she was smiling at him, slowly shaking her head. '_Totally worth it', _she mouthed.

Oliver grinned and nodded. McGonagall shot them both a disapproving look and ordered them to follow her into her office. Katie and Oliver did as they told. Oliver sat down on a chair and realized he hadn't been out in this office ever since McGonagall had asked him to become captain for the Gryffindor team. Ah, happy memories.

'So, what should I do with you?' the professor said.

'Very good question, professor. I suggest we give you our most beautiful smile, you realize what an amazing persons we are and decide to let us go. And maybe hand us some points for Gryffindor for entertaining our fellow students. We take it very seriously.' Katie said.

Oliver burst out laughing. Where did that come from? Katie's face didn't seem to move, she didn't even blink as she looked at McGonagall.

'It was a rhetorical question, miss Bell, but thank you for that ridiculous suggestion. Now, I believe professor Snape needed someone to clean his cauldrons tomorrow evening. I have a feeling you two might just be perfect for the case.'

Katie opened her mouth to protest but Oliver kicked her under the desk. He had heard much worse detention stories from Fred and George, maybe this wasn't so bad.

'Thank you, professor,' Oliver said politely. 'I think it might indeed be the perfect punishment for us. We will be delighted to clean the cauldrons.'

'Very well then, Mr. Wood. Miss Bell. You can go now.' McGonagall stood up and opened the door for them. Katie and Oliver walked out. As soon as she had closed the door behind her, Katie smacked Oliver on his head.

'OUCH! What the hell?'

'_Delighted? _Are you freaking serious, Wood!' Oliver noticed the sudden use of his last name but looking at an angry Katie still amused him.

Oliver held up his hands in defense. 'Hey, relax! It could have been much worse, she could have sent us into the Forest or something.'

Katie rolled her eyes. 'Don't you get it? It's not about the bloody cauldrons! It's about tomorrow night. That's the night of the Opening Party! I would die if I miss it.'

Oh, right. The party. Oliver had forgotten all about it, seeing as he was not too keen on going anyway. Ha, actually a good thing that he had gotten himself into detention, it would save him a lot of suffering.

'You can miss one party, right?' Oliver tried.

Katie raised her eyebrows at him. 'Oh wait, I forgot. You hate parties. But no, Oliver, I cannot miss one party. In fact, I'm not going to let that happen. _We're _not going to let that happen.'

'Fill me in, please.' Oliver said numbly, not really keen on what he thought he was about to hear.

'I haven't thought of a plan yet,' Katie said. 'But I will. Oh yes, I will. Anyways, I've got to head out to Herbology. See you tomorrow, Oliver. And wear some fancy clothes. Not the Puddlemere shirt.' She winked and walked away.

Oliver stood there for a while, staring after his Chaser. He thought if Katie was going to be at the party, he might actually enjoy himself. Katie took a left turn and disappeared around the corner. What in the world was happening to him?


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys, sorry for the late update, I had been enjoying an AMAZING holiday in Portugal. But I'm back now, so here's some new material! I would just like to point out that reviews are very much appreciated, so please tell me what you think about the story. **

Chapter 4

Oliver was sitting in his dormitory, trying very hard to focus on his Astronomy homework. Astronomy had always been one of his least favorite subjects. They lived in the UK, come on, when were they ever actually going to see a star with all those clouds everywhere, _all the time!_ He grumbled as he saw he had to take out another map filled with stars and planets. Where the hell was that thing anyway?

'You OK, mate?' Tom asked. He was sitting on his bed, filing his nails. Oliver took a curious look at it. Was he being for real right now?

'Tom, seriously...' Oliver began, ignoring his question. 'Are you really _filing_ your nails?'

'Well, at least you got something right,' Tom said. 'Your chart is complete rubbish. Mercurius, Oliver? For how long have you been taking this class again?'

'Astronomy is just really getting on my nerves, it's my worst subject.' Then Oliver shook his head incredulously. 'No, no, no mate, do not make this about me right now. You're filing you're nails here. That's very... metro to say the least.'

Tom laughed. 'I know what it looks like, why do you think I do it at our dorm? But girls like a man who takes good care of himself. And I'm planning on some girl-action with the party being tonight.' He started filing his left hand, looking satisfied at his right one. 'When's your detention anyway?'

Oliver looked at his watch. His detention with Snape started in ten minutes. He was wondering what Katie had planned to get them out of it.

'It's in ten minutes,' Oliver said. 'I should go get ready, Katie said she'd come up with a plan to go to the party.'

Tom nodded appreciatively. 'You know Ol, I really think she's a keeper, that girl. Just right for you.'

'I'm the Keeper here, she's my Chaser.'

Tom's mouth twitched a bit. 'Wow, you almost made me laugh there, Oliver.'

Oliver smiled as he was rummaging through some clothes, deciding what to wear. 'But seriously Tom, even if I did like her, which I don't, I could never get involved with her. She's on my team, it would be too distracting.'

Tom stood up from his bed and walked into Oliver's direction. 'Will you stop talking about Quidditch for once!' He was pointing his finger at him. 'You are in serious need of some action! When is the last time you've kissed a girl, huh?'

Great, just what he needed. Talk about girls. Oliver pulled out a blue shirt, the one which made his eyes look great, according to his mother. He put it on and turned to face Tom. 'Can we maybe not do this right now?' He walked over to the mirror to fix his hair.

'No, we are doing this now! It was Penelope Clearwater, wasn't it? The last one? In fourth year! Oh Oliver, man, you have got to do something about this!' Tom grabbed Oliver's shoulders and shook him violently.

Oliver winced as Tom brought up Penelope's name. He had been in fourth year and it hadn't exactly been pleasant. He was on his way to the bathroom when someone pushed him against a wall out of nowhere and started snogging him. He was too shocked to react or do something, but as the girl drew back he saw it had been Penelope Clearwater. And that's when he knew he was in trouble. Percy Weasley had never been his friend, but they were roommates and they had always gotten along just fine. Until that faithful day. Ever since Penelope had 'attacked' Oliver, Percy had been a complete pain in the ass towards Oliver. He basically snapped at him or just ignored him completely. Not the ideal roommate, to say the least. What had he done wrong anyway? He just _stood_ there...

'I don't feel like talking about Penelope either.' Oliver said.

Tom shrugged. 'I'm just saying, mate. You need to make a move on Katie fast. There are a lot of guys after her, you know.'

Guys? What guys? Were they bothering her? Oliver could feel anger rising up in his stomach. He would make sure they would leave his Chaser alone. That Cormac-guy had better not be one of them. Man, he hated his guts.

Oliver grabbed his bag from his bed and started walking towards the door.

'I wasn't planning on making a move on Katie, Tom. Or anyone for that matter. I have other things to focus on. But what was that about guys being after her?'

Tom grinned widely, _very _widely indeed. Oliver had no idea Tom's mouth was so big. What was he grinning about anyway?

'I knew it man, you're totally into her! I have to admit, she is _hot. _And at least you put on the right shirt. Same color as your eyes always does the trick, girls really dig that.

'Tom, I'm going to tell you once again since you're obviously not listening, I am _not _into Katie! _She - is - my - Chaser. _Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pick up said Chaser to go to detention. I'll see you at the party. And try one girl per night for once, will you? Bye now.'

Oliver began walking the stairs. Seriously, Tom was so out of line. He did not have feelings for Katie whatsoever. Sure, she was very pretty and fun to be with, but he just didn't _do _girls. He was pretty sure they were just an unnecessary distraction.

Since Oliver was Quidditch captain, he had the privilege to be able to walk the stairs to the girls' dormitory. All of the guys in Gryffindor were jealous of him but he hardly ever used the stairs, just to wake Angelina and Alicia up if they were late for practice. That scene was mostly followed by several pillows thrown in his face and a lot of complaining.

He knocked the door of Katie's dormitory and walked in.

Katie was sitting on her bed and he saw her quickly putting away a piece of paper she was holding in her hand, it looked like some sort of letter.

She smiled at him, looking kind of flustered. 'Hey Captain, are you ready?'

'Sure,' Oliver said. 'Sorry, was I bothering you?'

'No, no, not at all!' Katie said a bit too quickly. She stood up from her bed and walked over to him. 'Let's get going, Snape won't appreciate it if we're late. Not that he's going to appreciate our great escape, but even so.' She moved past him out of the door and Oliver decided not to ask any more questions. He watched her walking down the stairs, wearing a red dress, her hair looked shinier than ever. Man, she really was stunning. It really wasn't any surprise that Tom had said guys were after her. He just didn't like the thought of it.

'How were you planning to get us out of there?' Oliver asked, catching up with her.

Katie shrugged, 'You'll see. It's simple, yet very brilliant.' They were making their way to the dungeons now. It was already getting dark and the windows showed it was raining outside. Again. When was this rain ever going to stop?

'Don't you think Snape will get suspicious with you and your dress?' Oliver asked, uncertain.

'What about my dress, Oliver? Snape always tells me I dress nicely, he won't even notice. Besides, he is _always_ suspicious.' Katie took a left turn and they were walking down the stairs towards the dungeons now. They could feel the cold surrounding them every step they took.

'Snape tells you you dress nicely?' Oliver asked incredulously. 'I'm sorry, you have a lovely dress but that seems very unlikely, Katie.'

Katie rolled her eyes and put her finger to her lips in order to shut him op. 'I was just kidding,' she whispered. 'Now, just act normal, we'll be out of here within a couple of minutes.' She put her hand against the old wooden door and pushed it open.

Oliver got the same feeling of unease he got every time he entered the dungeons. There were no windows and everything just seemed very cold.

'There you are, I've been expecting you,' Snape's low voice called from behind his desk. 'Mr. Wood, you can take the seat over there,' Snape pointed at a table on the right side of the classroom. 'Ms. Bell, you can do your work right here,' he now pointed at a table opposite from Oliver.

'There will be no talking or communicating whatsoever. You will stay here until every cauldron is as shiny as a ghost. You are not allowed to use wands. And Miss Bell, don't do anything stupid, you will have to pay the price.'

Katie smiled sweetly at him. 'You know I wouldn't, professor.'

'I said no talking,' Snape snapped. 'Now get to work.'

Several cauldrons appeared in front of them as Snape flicked his wand. They were extremely gross and an awful smell was coming off of them. Oliver could see the disgust on Katie's face and he couldn't blame her. What had happened to these things? It wouldn't surprise him if Snape had made them even more gross than they actually were, just to get to them.

Snape was focusing on some papers in front of him now, frantically scratching through practically anything that was on them in red ink.

Oliver took the toothbrush that was in front of him and started rubbing it against the cauldron that looked the least dirty to him. He hoped Katie could get them out of there soon. Katie seemed to know what he was thinking since she gave him a reassuring nod and a mischievous smile.

Oliver decided to not put a great effort into cleaning the cauldrons and waited until something happened. A few minutes passed, Oliver could see that Katie was eyeing Snape closely. He looked at the cauldrons in front of him. If they were to actually stay there to finish them up, it would surely take them 'till long after midnight. He just picked up his toothbrush again to pretend he was actually cleaning anything when everything turned dark.

Oliver looked around in bewilderment but there wasn't a thing he could see. What the hell was happening to him? Had some sort of potion made him blind? He reached his hands out in front of him when someone grabbed his right hand and pulled him away from the table.

'Let's go, quickly!' Katie's voice whispered into his ear. Oliver felt a shiver going through his spine by the sudden feeling of her breath against his ear. He had no idea where they were going but he followed Katie, holding onto her hand tightly.

'BELL!' they could hear Snape calling, 'YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THIS!'

Katie opened the door out of the dungeons and pushed Oliver in some sort of small box, she ended up half on top of him, trying to hide from Snape as soon as possible. Oliver still couldn't see a thing, but he could hear Snape's footsteps drawing nearer.

'What is going on?' Oliver asked, but Katie quickly clapped her hand in front of his mouth.

They sat there for a while, after a few moments the darkness began to fade away and Oliver realized they were in a cupboard. Snape seemed to be gone and Katie removed her hand from Oliver's mouth.

'Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder,' Katie said.

'Excuse me?'

'You know, Fred and George gave it to me. They sell it to all the students. You just throw it and everything gets immensely dark, as I'm sure you've noticed.'

There was barely any room in the cupboard so Oliver and Katie were practically plastered together.

'I honestly thought I was going blind,' Oliver answered, fully aware of how close they were.

Katie let out a laugh. 'You're too naive sometimes, Oliver. Snape didn't seem too pleased though. What was up with that anyway? He immediately presumed it was me who did it! It could have just as easily been you!'

Oliver shook his head and smiled. 'No Katie, actually, it couldn't. I'm beginning to have a feeling you have some sort of reputation. And I'm pretty sure we'll be in a lot of trouble after this. I sure hope this party is worth it.'

'Of course it's worth it. Speaking of the party, let's head over there.' Katie pushed her hands against the doors of the cupboard. Nothing happened. She tried again, pushing harder this time. Still, the doors remained closed. She looked at Oliver in panic. 'It's not opening!'

'Let me try.' Oliver kicked the doors with his shoulder, using his full weight. The doors didn't give in.

'No! This isn't happening!' Katie said. Her green eyes were wide open in horror.

'Katie, relax. We'll figure it out.' Oliver budged the door again, but it didn't give in. He tried a few more times, using his full weight. Finally, he gave up. Panting from the effort, he leaned back against an old suitcase.

'It seems like you're stuck here with me, Katie. You dressed up nicely for me, I see.' Oliver joked.

'This isn't exactly the time to make jokes, Oliver. I was really looking forward to this. And we got ourselves a month worth of detention for nothing.' A frustrated sound came from her mouth. Katie leaned back as well. She gave the doors a hard kick as if to punish them for their cruel deed.

'Look at it from the bright side,' Oliver said. 'You could have been stuck with Marcus Flint. Instead, you're here with your amazing Quidditch Captain!'

'Don't flatter yourself too much, please.' Katie heaved a deep sigh. 'Well, since we're stuck here anyway, let's make the best out of it. Want to play 9 Questions?'

Oliver raised his eyebrows. 'Do _you _want to play 9 Questions?'

'Obviously,' Katie said, a bit more cheerful. 'I'll start.' She stayed silent for a moment as she began to think about a question. 'What is... your favorite color?'

'Oh, that's not hard. It's green.'

'Green?' Katie said, 'I thought it was blue. Your shirt matches your eyes very well, you know. It looks rather good.' She smiled up at him and Oliver was glad it was dark so she couldn't see his flustered face. What great insight his mom and Tom had.

'Your turn,' Katie now said.

'Ok...' Oliver thought for a while. 'Your all-time favorite song?'

Katie smiled, even in the dark Oliver could see her eyes twinkling. 'Not hard either. _Shouldn't have left me _by the Weird Sisters. I can listen to that song every day for the rest of my life.'

Oliver was surprised. He had no idea she liked the Weird Sisters, it didn't seem like her. 'The Weird Sisters, huh? So you have some rock in you, Katie Bell?'

Katie laughed. 'I have a lot in me that you don't know about, Captain. Ultimate dream job?'

Oliver shook his head. 'You've got to try harder than this. To play professional Quidditch of course. Worst pick-up line that anybody's ever tried on you?'

Oliver could feel Katie laughing beside him. 'I've heard seriously bad ones! I'm trying to decide which one is worse, I can't pick between two.'

'Please tell me both. I love to hear about failure if it's not concerning me.' All Oliver wanted was to hear her laugh again. It just made him feel good.

'You are an evil man, Oliver. Right so there's: "Care to make some magic with my personal wand?" and "I would like to discover _your _Chamber of Secrets".'

Oliver burst out laughing. And he thought _he_ was bad with girls. Well, this was a comforting thought. He surely hoped Katie wouldn't have fallen for any of these lines. But seriously, the Chamber of Secrets? What messed up mind was that coming from? Actual tears were running down his face now. Katie joined his laughter too.

'Hahaha Oliver,' she finally managed to let out. 'Your laugh is very contagious, seriously, it's hilarious.'

'Oh, you think _that's _hilarious!' Oliver laughed. 'You're laughing at your captain, huh? I'll teach you a lesson, Katie Bell.'

With the little room that was left in the small cupboard, Oliver managed to throw himself on Katie and started tickling her. Katie shrieked and laughed hysterically, trying to kick him off.

'No!' she shrieked, 'Oliver please, I _hate _that! Pleeeease stop!'

Katie turned out to be incredibly strong and managed to grab hold of Oliver's wrist. She tried to put it behind his head. Oliver laughed. 'No way Kates, you're paying for this!' He pinned her wrists onto the ground and suddenly ended flat on top of her.

They were both still laughing but all of a sudden their smiled faded away.

Oliver's blue eyes stared into Katie's green ones and they lay there, silent. He could smell her great flowery scent and felt her soft skin beneath him. If only she wasn't so pretty... Oliver could feel himself leaning forward, he wanted to be closer to her, he wanted to know what her red lips would feel like. He could now feel her breathing. She was so beautiful, if only he could kiss her.

They were only a few inches away and it was weird, he had never experienced this before, but he wanted nothing else but to kiss her. Suddenly their noses touched and Oliver realized with a jolt what he was doing. Quickly he jumped off of her and awkwardly cleared his throat. What the hell was he thinking? She was his bloody Chaser!

Oliver then took out his wand and pointed at the doors of the cupboard. 'Alohomora,' he mumbled.

'Right,' Katie said, sounding a bit confused. 'We're wizards. How could we forget.'

Oliver let her step out of the closet first. He saw her red dress was a bit fumbled now, probably thanks to their 'incident' on the floor just now. He followed her outside, Katie was already walking the stairs out of the dungeons. Surely she was trying to get away from him as soon as possible. Merlin, he sure hoped she wouldn't be mad at him. But then again, she hadn't done anything to stop it, right? Had she wanted to kiss him too?

No, of course not. He was her Captain. It was wrong.

'Are you coming, or what?' Katie called from the top of the stairs.

Oliver was still standing in front of the cupboard. 'Oh, right. Yes, I'm coming.' He ran the stairs and joined Katie again. They walked towards the Room of Requirement in silence. Oliver was afraid to say _anything_ really, he was pretty sure it would sound immensely stupid. They arrived at the wall where the Room was hidden and Katie started pacing around. Oliver followed her lead and thought of the party in order to get in.

Finally, two great doors appeared and they stepped through them.

There was very loud music and there were a lot of people. Cups once filled with drinks were lying all over the floor and people were dancing as if there was no tomorrow. Oliver sighed to himself. This wasn't exactly his form of entertainment. Katie looked rather pleased though. She immediately managed to get herself a drink and handed him a cup as well. It was filled with some fluorescent orange fluid.

'This was totally worth the wait!' Katie said. Then she pointed in some direction. 'Look, there's Alicia, Angelina, Tom and the twins. Let's go.' She grabbed his wrist and led him through the crowd.

So maybe Katie wasn't as mad at him as he had thought she was… She was still talking, handing him drinks and touching him, right? Oliver presumed that was a good thing.

As soon as Oliver got closer to their friends, he could see they were completely hammered. Tom and George seemed to be doing some sort of drinking contest, while Alicia was dancing with her eyes closed and her hands over her head, apparently not aware of what was happening around her. Fred was folding his arms around Angelina, obviously trying to hook up with her and Angelina was just giggling madly.

'OLIVER!' Tom yelled as soon as he caught sight of him. 'You made it, that is soooooo great, man!' Tom left the drinking game and grabbed Oliver's shoulder for support.

'Man, believe me: best party _ever_. And I am not kidding right now, you know. Look me in the eye. No, Oliver! Look me in the eye, I said! I'm not kidding, man. Best – party – _ever.'_

Oliver took another look at his drink and took a gulp. Man, that stuff was sweet, not to mention chemical. 'I can see that you're having a good time, yeah,' he said. 'Now, excuse me, I have to remind my team of practice tomorrow morning.'

'Wait.' Tom bellowed, wiggling on his feet. He wrapped his arms around Oliver very tightly. 'I love you, man. Like for real, I love you. You're my best friend.'

Oliver patted him on the back. 'Yes, that's great, Tom. Love you too.'

He released himself from the hug and walked over to his three Chasers Angelina, Alicia and Katie. Angelina seemed to have freed herself from Fred and the three girls were discussing something, their heads together. Oliver saw Katie had already finished her drink and was right on the way with her second one. He hated to see his team drink. It honestly was no good for them, their game would be seriously affected, especially since their next practice would be early in the following morning.

'Guys, remember: practice tomorrow at 8.30. I expect you all to be fit.' Oliver said.

Alicia threw her fist in the air. 'I love Quidditch! Best sport ever!'

'8.30 – hiccup- you said?' Angelina was looking up at him, her eyes half closed. 'I think that's pretty early, isn't it?'

'I don't care if it's –'

'Sorry to interrupt, Wood.' A voice called from behind. Oliver turned around and to his dismay he saw it was none other than Roger Davies, Ravenclaw team captain, who had interrupted him. He had seen Davies' team practicing and it scared the hell out of him. He seemed to have put together quite an excellent team. He just couldn't stand the guy, with his dark black hair and his grey eyes every girl in the school seemed to be drooling over. Why was he here anyway?

'Why are you here?' Oliver snapped. 'We're discussing Quidditch business. Seems kind of convenient, don't you think?'

Davies grinned mockingly. 'Get yourself together, Wood. I was just wondering if you had received my letter, Katie?'

Katie shot a quick glare at Oliver before answering. She put her hair behind her ear nervously. 'Er, yes Roger, I got it. Thanks.'

Davies sent Katie a letter? Was that what she'd been reading when he came to pick her up before detention? But why would he write her a letter? Were they seeing each other or something? Could it be possible that Katie, beautiful, great Katie was interested in a guy like Davies? The thought alone made Oliver feel sick. He was the _enemy, _for Merlin's sake. The Captain of another team, _come on!_ No good could come of this.

'I have to go to the bathroom,' Oliver mumbled as he turned to walk away. As he walked out of the party he felt himself getting angrier with every step he took. Roger Davies was an insufferable, arrogant git and he would never change. He played on another team, Katie couldn't be seeing him. But it wasn't only Quidditch that was bothering him in this matter.

It was bothering Oliver that all the time he was in the cupboard with Katie, he had been perfectly aware of the fact that he had a wand on him and knew a spell to open the doors. He had just chosen not to do anything, for the simple fact that he _liked _being stuck there with Katie. He hadn't wanted them to break free.

Something was terribly wrong.

**You'd seriously make my day if you reviewed! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks a million to my reviewers! You really make it fun for me to write and to continue with this story. So please, keep on doing it! **

**Excuse me for not updating, I've been really busy playing tennis but I'm sort of injured now so I guess I won't be doing that now anymore haha. No, it's not that funny, really. **

**Anyway, had a hard time on this chapter, hope it worked out!  
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Chapter 5

'Are you kidding me? He said that! Oh my god, he's totally into you, Angie!' Alicia Spinnet's voice whispered enthusiastically.

'Sssh! Don't jinx it!' Angelina Johnson replied. 'He might as well doesn't mean it like that. You know how he can be. It's-'

'Oh, knock it off already!' Katie Bell interrupted. 'It's written all over his face. Trust me: Fred Weasley is in love with you.'

The three Gryffindor Chasers were sitting in the common room on the large red couch by the fire.

Their captain was sitting behind it.

Oliver made sure he laid low so they wouldn't see him. He had been eavesdropping for a couple of minutes now. In these minutes he had found out that it was true what they said: girls talked about clothes and guys _a lot. _

Oliver had to stop himself from sighing out loud. They had been going on about Fred and Angelina for ages now. Come on, it was obvious they liked each other, he didn't need to hear any more about it. He sure hoped for them that their little romance wouldn't be of any influence on the field though. In fact, he hoped they would remain silent before their match against Slytherin in a few weeks. Oliver had received a few weird looks from people who could see him sitting there, behind the couch. Oliver had glared at them and motioned them to be quiet.

The girls were still going on about Fred and Angelina. _Move on already!_ He needed to hear about what was going on with Katie and stupid, arrogant, self-absorbed, _stupid_ Davies.

He sure hoped she'd be smart enough to stay out of his way. You know, for the team's sake. Besides, she could do a hell of a lot better than Davies.

Oliver hadn't really spoken to Katie since their 'incident' in the closet. On the practice the morning after the party nobody really spoke. Oliver was just yelling orders while everyone was too hung-over to protest. At one point, Alicia even had to run down to the toilet, probably to puke. Well, at least she had the decency not to do it on the field.

'You should just ask him out, Ange.' Katie said. 'There's no denying it anyway.'

'Speaking of denying things...' Alicia said conspiratorially, 'just admit that you've been seeing that superhot, owner of an amazing body, Roger Davies, Kates.'

_Finally! _Oliver thought. So her friends had noticed something too... Oliver felt something tickling in his nose. Oh no... He quickly put his finger on it but it was too late. Before he could do anything he had to sneeze _really _loudly. His three Chasers jumped up immediately.

_'WOOD!' _Angelina shrieked. 'What the hell are you doing! Were you eavesdropping!' There was a look of complete terror on her face.

Oliver tried very hard to think of an excuse that would sound at least a bit credible. They were all looking at him expectantly. _Think Oliver, think._ Man, they were intimidating...

'I, er... I dropped my quill!' Oh Merlin, he was _brilliant. _They were totally going to fall for that one.

'You dropped your quill?' Alicia said sarcastically, eyebrows raised. The three of them were looking like some sort of war front right now, out to destroy him.

'That's right...' Oliver said, a bit uncertain. 'I dropped my quill and so I went to pick it up. Then I sneezed. It's dusty down here.'

'Yeaaaaa, I'm not buying it.' Katie was glaring up at him. 'You show up out of nowhere to get your quill? You're a tall guy, Oliver. Trust me, we'd have noticed you. Spill it.'

'Er... Spill it? What exactly?'

'She means, what are you doing here? And what did you hear!' Angelina's voice was getting really panicky now. Oh please, as if he didn't already know she liked Fred. He was their Captain, it was very annoying to see the two of them get so distracted by each other at practice. He just wished he hadn't sneezed, he still hadn't heard what the deal was with Katie and Davies.

'I wasn't eavesdropping. And I know I'm tall Katie, not to mention muscular. Now I have my quill, so I can leave again.' Oliver was slowly moving away from his Chasers.

'Show it.' Angelina then snapped.

Oliver turned around. 'Excuse me?'

'The quill. Let me see it.'

He had to act quick now. Should he just run? No, that'd be weird.

'Practice at 5, ladies.' He turned around and tried not to sprint up the stairs to his dormitory.

He could hear the girls protesting from the couch and quickly closed the door behind him. Phew, that was close.

He turned around and saw Percy Weasley staring up at him, his prefect badge gleaming on his chest. Shouldn't he be cleaning that thing or something?

'Percy,' Oliver said and he nodded at his roommate.

'Wood.' It sounded like a growling werewolf.

'Have you seen Tom?' Oliver asked, determined to stay nice to Percy.

'He's in the bathroom. He has been in there for over an hour. Almost as self-absorbed as you are, I guess. Feel free to join him.' Percy flipped through his pages and continued ignoring Oliver.

Oliver decided to just leave it at that. How pathetic was he anyway? Percy and Penelope had gotten together eventually and it was almost three years ago. Get over it already.

He walked over to the bathroom and knocked on the door. 'Tom! Get out, I need to talk to you!'

He could hear some muffled voices on the other side of the door and then a girlish giggle. Wait a minute...

'Or should I leave you alone?' Oliver grinned.

More giggling. Man, that guy was priceless.

'No it's OK, Oliver. Just give me a moment.'

Oliver turned around to look at Percy. 'You didn't hear anything?' he asked.

Percy shot him another death glare. 'He was already in there when I arrived. And frankly, I don't care whatever he is doing in there, as long as he cleans everything. I would like to state though that your friend is disgusting. Just as immature and disrespectful as you are.'

Now, he may just have reached the point where he had finally had enough of it. Oliver walked away from the door and walked over to Percy's bed. 'Can we maybe just leave this behind us?' he bellowed.

Percy raised his eyebrows and his blue eyes were staring up at Oliver from under his glasses. Then he stared back at his book and cleared his throat. 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

Could this guy get any more annoying? 'Percy, come on! This is our last year here, can't we just make the best of it? I'm sorry if you think that I intentionally kissed Penelope in fourth year, but trust me, I didn't. We're roommates, let's just try to get along.'

Percy's eyes were spitting fire now. He was slowly getting up and put his book aside. Oliver sure hoped he wouldn't throw it at him, it was rather huge.

'You didn't _intentionally _kiss her?' Percy hissed. 'You're suggesting she threw yourself at you? You're suggesting _you _weren't the one who forced her to kiss you while you _knew _I was into her?'

'Yes!' Oliver was getting really frustrated now. 'That is exactly what I'm suggesting! I don't know what she told you, but _she _was the one who forced me! Ask anyone, there were witnesses. Ask Tom, he loves to talk about it!'

At that moment the bathroom door opened. A short blonde girl came walking out of it, blushing madly. Oliver thought she was in Ravenclaw, but wasn't she a little young? Like what, third year? Her friends would sure be proud of her.

'Hi,' The girl whispered and she quickly walked towards the door leading to the stairs. Tom followed her out of the bathroom.

'Bye Emily,' he said. 'I'll owl you.'

Oliver was having the feeling that he certainly wouldn't. The girl, apparently named Emily, quickly closed the door behind her and left. Probably to be embarrassed once more as everyone in the Gryffindor common room could see her emerging from the boy's dormitory.

'Now,' Tom said, fumbling his fingers through his hair and walking over to his roommates. 'What was that I love to talk about?'

Percy shook his head, probably cursing his unlucky stars for his roommates. He attempted to get up but Oliver pulled him down again.

'No,' he said. 'We're doing this now.'

Tom whistled. 'Feisty, Oliver. Really hot. Now, is this about Penelope? Because if it is, you should really get over that.'

'That's what I'm trying to tell him,' Oliver said. 'Percy just won't believe me.'

Percy's fists were balled and his eyes were slits. 'Of course I don't believe you, Wood.'

Tom rolled his eyes. 'You two are pathetic. It was in fourth year, for Merlin's sake. The girl's not even hot! But for the record, it was Penelope who attacked Oliver. Not the other way around, Percy. But you have nothing to worry about. Oliver has the hots for Katie Bell now.'

Wait, what was that? He did totally not 'have the hots' for Katie! Percy was still looking really angry though, so he decided not to say anything about it. Percy stood up from the bed and Oliver didn't try to stop him this time.

'You guys are best friends. Of course you'd say that, Tom. I still don't believe a word any of you say. So why don't you just go out there again and be the popular guys who can get everything they want, whenever they want it and leave me alone for the rest of the year, OK?'

Tom and Oliver opened their mouths to protest but Percy was already gone, leaving his book behind on his bed.

The two friends stood in silence for a while, not sure what to say to each other.

Oliver began to think to himself that maybe he should've done something about the Percy-situation earlier and he was starting to feel a little guilty now. Apparently Tom noticed, he was eyeing him sceptically.

'Don't feel guilty now, man.' he said. 'You didn't do it, right? We'll talk to him later. Now, what did you want to talk to me about?'

Oliver had already decided to skip questioning Tom about Katie and Davies after his previous comment about him 'having the hots' for her.

'Oh, nothing, I just wanted your help with Percy.'

Tom grinned. 'Right. You're my best friend Oliver, but you're also a bad liar. If you want to ask me about Katie and Roger, go right ahead.'

_Roger? _Did he just call him Roger? What were they, friends or something? And how in the world did Tom know he wanted to ask him about that? He couldn't be that good of a Legilimens.

'That was not what I wanted to ask you. But since you mentioned it, is there something going on between them? And why are you calling him Roger?' Oliver did his best to sound casual. He didn't dare to look at Tom. Why was he even trying to sound casual anyway? It's not like he was into Katie, he just thought she was attractive. It was just some sort of phase, it would surely pass.

Tom shook his head and showed his handsome grin again. 'Oliver seriously, you're not fooling me, I know you too well. To be honest, I don't know what is going on between them but I heard some rumours. If you want to know, here's a tip: ask her.'

Ask her? Ha, there's the worst idea ever.

'Why were you calling him Roger again?'

Tom rolled his eyes. 'Jealous much? He's a nice guy, Oliver,' he said. 'Aside from the fact that he's Ravenclaw captain and the Katie-business.' Tom quickly added as he saw Oliver's furious look.

'Right...' Oliver said slowly. Well, he certainly wasn't jealous. He was the one who was going to win the Cup this year, he would make sure of that. Oliver started pacing around the room. What if Davies was trying to get to Katie to steal the tactics? He sure was competitive enough to do something like that but would Katie honestly fall for something like that? She seemed smarter. But with Davies you never knew... He _had _to find out what was going on. And he really needed to work on the new position play against Slytherin he had just developed. Time to focus on that.

'Thanks Tom, you can leave now.'

Tom burst out laughing. 'I can leave now? Excuse me boss, I'm not being sent away from my own dormitory.'

Oliver started laughing too. Maybe he had a point. 'You know what, you're right. You can stay, because I have something else to ask you.'

'Oh, so you admit that your question was about Katie?'

'I'm ignoring that statement. Now, who was that blonde, my friend? And what in the world were you two doing in there?'

Tom grinned madly again and held his hands up in the air. 'Remember: I don't kiss and tell. Now, I do think my time has come to leave. I'll leave you and your Katie-thoughts alone.'

'Quidditch!' Oliver yelled.

Tom gave him a startled look. 'You are so odd sometimes.'

'No, I meant: I was going to work on Quidditch. No Katie-thoughts. And tell Fred he should wait with asking Angelina out, I need them to focus. I have the feeling he's not going to listen to me.'

Tom slapped Oliver on the back of his head before he left the room. Oliver was not sure why he had deserved that but he decided not to go after him and took out his playbook. He wrapped his hands together and got comfortable. Nothing better than some great Quidditch thinking when you were alone...

XXX

OK, so maybe the new tactic wasn't really working. Oliver was panting on the Quidditch field, his broom in one hand and his playbook in the other. His team was sitting in front of him on the grass, their faces all staring at the ground. They were exhausted and Oliver couldn't blame them. They had been trying really hard to get the new play right but it just didn't seem to be working. Katie and Angelina kept bumping into each other and Fred was constantly sending Bludgers in Harry's direction.

Oliver sighed. He just really needed this to work out. What would his father say if he knew that he couldn't even manage his team to get a simple new play right? He was pretty sure he would've gotten the job done, he had won the Cup three times when he was captain at Hogwarts. Three times... Those were numbers he could only dream of, but he was determined to break Slytherin's winning streak, that counted for something as well.

'Team,' Oliver sighed. 'I know I have been hard on you and I appreciate your effort.' He stopped talking as he noticed Angelina and Fred were whispering to each other as if no one else was there. He cleared his throat loudly. The whispering continued and Angelina giggled. Oliver was getting really annoyed by now. See? This is what happened if players got too involved with each other. Alicia nudged Angelina. She looked up at Oliver's irritated face and blushed.

'Sorry, Oliver.'

Right. She was _sorry_. 'JOHNSON AND WEASLEY!' Oliver yelled. It came out a bit louder than he had planned, the whole team seemed to jump a little. 'I'm going to have to speak to you. Now. The rest can go, see you on Wednesday.'

Harry, Alicia, George and Katie stood up. Then Oliver realized something.

'Katie, wait. I would like to have a word with you too. Could you wait outside for a moment?'

Alicia raised her eyebrows at her friend, saying something like _you're in trouble. _Then she joined Harry and George and walked away.

'Well, Captain,' Katie said, nodding towards Fred and Angelina. 'Go show them their rightful place. But do keep in mind you're going to need them in one piece for the match.'

Oliver smiled. 'In that case, I'll know when I have reached my limit.' He grinned playfully and walked away with Fred and Angelina.

Fred turned to face Oliver, his ears red. He looked rather angry, what was up with that?

'Don't you dare you say something hypocrite, I'm just warning you.' he grumbled.

'Hypocrite? I don't know what you're talking about,' Oliver said. 'I wanted to talk to you about the little "thing" that seems to be going on between you guys.' He made some quotation marks in the air and looked up at his two players.

'I know I can't forbid you two to be seeing each other, but I urgently ask you to reconsider it. It could greatly affect the entire team.'

'Our little thing?' Fred snapped. 'And was that just now with you and Katie over there? You were practically drooling over her, man. _That's _you being hypocrite.'

'You know what, Fred's right,' Angelina cut in. ' And I _knew _it, you were eavesdropping earlier! But you were definitely flirting with each other.'

'Wh- Were not!' Oliver blurted out. That was _definitely_ not flirting, come on! That was talking to his team player, nothing more. He was Captain, he'd be incredibly stupid to give the wrong example. He looked over his shoulder to look at Katie but immediately wished he hadn't done so. Fred slapped him on his chest.

'Well mate, as soon as you have that figured out, you can come back to us. We're leaving now.' And with that, the two of them walked away, laughing.

Well, that was awkward.

He should probably go over to Katie now. He started thinking about what Fred had said. Maybe he did enjoy speaking to Katie a bit too much but that didn't mean there was something going on between them, right? Apparently Katie had noticed the departure of Fred and Angelina since she was walking over the grass towards him now.

'How did that go?' her eyes were twinkling, she had probably seen them storm off, laughing.

'I'll figure it out later,' Oliver mumbled. 'I wanted to talk to you about the new play we practiced today. Do you think you can give me hand?'

He was choosing his words very carefully now, making sure he wouldn't sound unprofessional or like a bad Captain.

Katie smiled. 'In fact, I could give you both my hands. I'd love to help you, Oliver. I'm quite honoured actually that you'd let someone else mingle in the plays.'

Oliver shrugged. 'Well, I figured... It's the Chasers where it keeps going wrong and you're a Chaser. Besides, you have true heart for the game, you're kind of my-' He stopped just in time. That would have been so inappropriate to say, Merlin what was he thinking?

Katie tilted her head. 'I'm kind of your what?'

Oliver quickly shook his head and started walking towards the locker rooms. 'Never mind, let's get to work quickly, I believe Hufflepuff has practice scheduled tonight as well.'

Katie followed him into the locker rooms and took out a great school board as Oliver opened his playbook.

'Draw me something beautiful, Picasso.' Katie said as she sat down on one of the benches. She was still wearing her Quidditch robes but she could even pull _those _off. And they weren't exactly charming.

'I'll do my very best, Miss Bell.' Oliver grinned as he began drawing several circles and lines.

They discussed the play for a while, standing in front of the school board and drawing and erasing as if their lives depended on it. Oliver thought it was pretty comfortable, working with Katie. She was very patient (unlike himself) and put him in the right place a few times. After half an hour or so, they finally figured out what went wrong during practice.

Oliver heaved a relieved sigh. 'Katie, you're the best. I couldn't have done it without you. Seriously, thank you.'

Katie waved his comment away with her hand. 'It was nothing, really. Most of the work was yours. You know, you truly are an amazing Captain. You deserve to win the Cup, Oliver. I really hope we can help you with that.'

For some reason that made Oliver feel incredibly good. He felt like he could stand there and talk to Katie forever. But surely that would pass, it was ridiculous to think he had feelings for her. But he really needed to know about Davies now. Just so he knew...

'Katie, can I ask you something?'

'Sure, anything,' Katie said. 'Just don't ask how much I weigh, girls really don't like that.'

Oliver laughed. 'I was not going to ask that, but I have my ways to find out if I really wanted to know.'

She raised her eyebrows. 'I'm sure you do. But seriously, ask away.'

Ok, how should he put this without sounding like a complete idiot? He should definitely relate it to Quidditch. Wasn't it great that Quidditch seemed to be the answer to almost everything?

'Well, you know how I just confronted Fred and Angelina about what is going on between them... And just to be fair... There have been some rumours, Katie. Are you seeing Roger Davies? Because if you are, I would like to know. I would like to remind you that he is the enemy.'

Well, that sounded pretty good.

Katie looked at him strangely. 'The enemy?' she repeated. 'Oliver, I know Quidditch is a big deal, but it's not a war we're fighting here. But if it makes you feel any better: don't believe everything you hear. I've known Roger for a long time, we go way back.'

Oliver nodded. Well, that was good news. _Very _good news indeed. He wasn't supposed to be this pleased about it, but what the hell.  
>'Right. Well, that's good. I'm sorry, I just wanted to check, you know, since I just spoke to Fred and Angelina, you know. I know I'm in no position to ask you, I mean, you can make your own decisions. I was just wondering... You know, with Quidditch and all. And for your sake of course. And I had just been hearing some things and-'<p>

'Oliver!' Katie laughed. 'Stop apologizing! It's alright! I told you you could ask me anything, remember?'

She did say that. Her laugh was so beautiful. Should he say something now?

Katie was grabbing her bag from the bench.

'Er, thanks again Katie, I'll be in here for another minute, you really helped me out today.' Oliver said.

'Sure, anytime.' Katie started to walk towards the door. 'Well, I guess I'll see you around then.' She winked and opened the door. 'Oh and Oliver? You're kind of my favourite too.'

**Don't forget to review :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**I know this took forever, don't get too mad at me. I've been very busy but that's no excuse seeing the amount of time that separates this chapter from the previous one. I don't know if anyone is still with me, but if you are, thanks for sticking around! **

**Chapter 6**

The wind was racing through Oliver's hair as he flew around the Quidditch poles. His team was playing excellent so far, putting everything he had stressed on into practice. Oliver could hear the Hufflepuff crowd groaning as Alicia scored yet another goal. Cedric Diggory shook his head angrily and Oliver gave him a smug look.

'How do you like me now, Diggory?' he said.

Cedric flew closer towards him and grinned mischievously. 'Just you wait, Wood.'

What was that supposed to mean?

Suddenly, something in the game seemed to change. All the players came flying in his direction, all wearing insane grins. Fred held up a Quaffle.

'You're never going to win this Cup, Oliver. You're just not good enough. He threw the Quaffle straight into the right pole.

'He's right, you know,' Diggory said. 'You're definitely the weakest captain that Gryffindor has ever seen.' All of a sudden he was holding a Quaffle as well. He dived and scored.

Everybody was throwing Quaffles at him now, Oliver couldn't stop any of them.

'You're not so special, Captain,' Katie said. She threw a Quaffle straight at him which made him fall off his broom. Oliver could hear Lee Jordan's voice echoing through the packed stadium: 'Oliver Wood is now on the ground! Gryffindor's better off without him anyways! Yet again, we'll very likely be seeing the Slytherin team win the Cup this year!'

XXX

'NOOOO!' Oliver was straight up in his bed, panting. He warily looked around. It took him several moments to realize that he was in his dormitory and not lying on the Quidditch field. The shower was running and rain was attacking the windows outside.

Oliver let his head sink back into his cushion as he saw Percy shooting him a disgusted look.

'Get yourself checked, Wood,' he snapped before walking out of the door.

Oliver heaved a relieved sigh. It was all just a dream. A dream that he would never let become reality. It was Tuesday. They would be playing Hufflepuff in five days and he hadn't been able to catch some sleep for over a week now.

_You're not so special, Captain... _He could hear Katie's voice echoing in his head. It sounded so real and it made him want to throw up.

Shaking these thoughts off him, Oliver got up and got dressed. There was no use in showering whilst Tom was in there. He would probably still take another half an hour. Oliver didn't even bother to look in the mirror as he headed down to the Great Hall to get some breakfast. That is, if he would be able to eat. It was of great importance that he ate though, he needed to be in top shape for the match on Saturday.

It was pretty quiet in the common room, everybody was probably getting breakfast before their lessons started. Oliver climbed through the portrait hole and made his way toward the Great Hall. He didn't bother to look for any of his friends and sat down. They'd probably throw Quaffles at him anyway or something like that. Bloody gits.

Oliver snatched some waffles away from a girl he was pretty sure was in Ravenclaw. What the hell was she doing getting food from the Gryffindor table? Had Davies sent her to try and weaken him from his match against Hufflepuff? He'd sure like to see Hufflepuff win, that arrogant git, more chances for Ravenclaw to take the Cup.

'Oi, Wood!' Fred Weasley and Lee Jordan came to sit next to him.

'What do you want?' Oliver snapped, still eyeing the Ravenclaw girl.

'How about some breakfast with the most eligible bachelor of Hogwarts?' Lee suggested.

'Well, be sure to grab some food quickly,' Oliver said darkly. 'It seems like Davies has sent some spies here to sabotage our eating patterns in order to weaken us. Here' - Oliver got Fred some cereal-, 'now eat it before anyone can do something about it.'

It was silent for a while as the two Gryffindor guys were staring blankly at Oliver. Fred then mouthed the word 'wow'.

'Is this it then?' Lee said. 'Has he finally gone completely mental?'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Oliver grumbled as he sipped from his glass of water, first checking with his wand if there was some sort of poison in it.

'Oliver, mate...' Fred started, 'don't you think you're being an eensy-teensy bit paranoid? We're not even playing Ravenclaw anytime soon. You really need to relax a bit, man.'

'Relax!' Oliver replied, 'I'll relax once I have that Cup standing next to my bed. Until then, I'll be damn sure to watch my back!'

Lee was looking at Fred as if not sure if he was to take this seriously or not. Fred nodded to indicate that this was pretty natural behaviour for Oliver a couple of days before Game Day.

'Um, you do know that you're not allowed to take the Cup to bed with you, do you? It's supposed to be in the common room,' Lee said.

Oliver snorted. 'I don't care about some stupid rules, that thing is _mine.' _

Before either Lee of Fred could contradict him, they were interrupted by the daily mail coming in. Hundreds of soaking wet owls made their ways to the students of Hogwarts. Oliver looked up and saw that the magical ceiling was still pitch dark and that it was still pouring outside. He was about to grab another waffle when his owl Ginger landed beside him on the table, holding out her paw which held an envelope. Oliver took it and wanted to proceed with his waffle when Ginger started picking his fingers.

'What now!' Oliver yelled at his owl. 'I'm going to need my hands more than ever now, you know that damn well, Ginger! It's almost Game Day!'

Ginger picked his finger one more time and then flew away.

'Screaming to your owl now as well, Oliver?' Tom came to join them, his hair still wet from the shower. 'I'd hoped you'd save your screams for the nightmares you seem to be having every night for the past few days.'

'Well, then here's another lesson not to get your hopes up, Tom.' Oliver picked up the envelope and opened it. He immediately recognized his Mom's handwriting.

_Dear Oliver, _

_how are you doing? Do you still get down to your school work? I know that you have a match coming up, but please, think about your N.E.W.T's as well. _

_I hope you're not giving your friends too hard of a time now that it's almost Game Day. But just in case that you are, I sent some cookies for your friends. I feel sorry for them since you're a real pain in the ass when it comes to Quidditch. Be sure to give it to them. _

_Love, Mum. _

That was so typical. Oliver was practically freaking out here and his Mom sent cookies not for him, but for his friends.

'Ha!' Fred, who had been reading over Oliver's shoulder yelled. 'Alright, Mrs. Wood! Now hand them over, Oliver, your Mum's are the best. Just don't tell my mother I said that.'

Oliver tossed the package with cookies to Fred. 'You don't deserve them, you know,' he said. 'That Bludger you missed at practice yesterday? Weak. I have nothing else to say.'

'Whatever mate,' Fred said while chewing. 'Hey, Katie, want one?' He threw a cookie into Katie's direction who was just approaching them. The quick Chaser that she was, caught it with ease and put it in her mouth.

'Wow, that's good,' she said. 'A whole lot better than my father's anyway.'

'Don't eat too many of them, you might get nauseous, it will affect your play.' Oliver said dully.

'Right. Oliver, I've been listening to your little rant from across the other side of the table, seeing as it was completely audible over there as well but I decided to give you the good news anyway. McGonagall owled me, we have to go to detention tonight for the time we ran out on Snape, remember?'

The time they ran out on Snape and ended up on top of each other in a closet? Oh sure, he remembered that.

Oliver could feel his face become red a bit. Then he realized they had practice tonight.

'Tonight!' Oliver stood up so quickly that the bench almost fell over if it wasn't for Tom, Lee and Fred who were sitting on it. 'No, we can't go to detention tonight, we have practice! McGonagall knows that!'

Katie sighed. 'Indeed she does, but we're not going to get out of this one. We're lucky enough it's only one extra night. Anyways, 8 'o clock, Forbidden Forest. Don't be late, Captain.' Katie turned and walked back towards her seat with Angelina and Alicia at the Gryffindor table.

Oliver felt the need to throw his fork at someone but he felt it would only get him extra detention.

'Sooo...,' Fred was comfortably leaning backwards. 'Looks like I finally have a night off then. How about some Wizard Chess, mates?'

Oliver blinked once, stared at his friends and then just plainly stood up and walked away.

XXX

A few hours later, Oliver was up to his final lesson of the day, Charms with the Ravenclaws. He hadn't really spoken to anybody after breakfast, people knew better than to talk to him when he was clearly in some sort of state. Teachers had been complaining about N.E.W.T's and about job interviews and it all just gave him a massive headache. What did he care about his grades? All he cared about was impressing the scouts that were bound to be present at the game next Saturday in order for him to score a spot on a team in the Quidditch League.

Oliver sat down in the back of class, throwing his bag off his shoulder. He could hear his ink pot slash and cursed under his breath.

'Now, now, language Wood,' a voice called from over his head as Oliver was kneeling down to clean the mess.

Oliver shot an irritated look upwards right in the eyes of Roger Davies. The Ravenclaw captain took the seat next to him, very much to Oliver's dislike.

'Nothing wrong with some cursing every once in a while,' Oliver replied. 'It keeps the edge off of things.'

Davies grinned and shrugged. 'Whatever you say, man. Feeling nervous for Saturday?'

'No,' Oliver lied. 'We have nothing to be nervous about. I'm sure you've seen it on one of your little spying sessions, we have the best team in school. Hufflepuff should be glad if they could score a single goal.'

Professor Flitwick entered the class room and ordered everyone to start practicing the spells that were bound to come up in the N.E.W.T's examinations. He drew some notes on the blackboard in front of the class.

'The best team in school, huh?' Roger whispered to Oliver. 'Well, you certainly have a good distraction in Katie Bell, I don't know if I'm going to be able to keep my eyes off of her while we're playing. She's a looker, that one.'

'Why would you say something like that?' Oliver snapped, a bit louder than he had intended. Several heads turned to see what was going on.

Davies chuckled as he waved his wand and accidentally blew up the tea pot that was in front of him. His face was blackened and his hair stood straight up.

'Ha!' Oliver called. That would wipe that smug look off of his face. Trying to intimidate him by sitting next to him and saying annoying things. Well, annoyed he certainly was. His very presence itself made Oliver sick.

Davies wiped the ashes off of his face and turned to face Oliver. 'Sorry about that. I was just picturing that lovely Chaser of yours back there, I told you she'd get me distracted.'

Oliver grinded his teeth as he tried to focus on his spell. An image of Davies and Katie together kept popping up in his head. Hadn't Katie just told him there was nothing going on between them? As if Katie would ever fall for a complete git like Davies, he was so full of himself.

'Are you OK, Wood? You seem a bit angry?' Davies was looking at him with a broad, fake smile on his face. Oliver felt like smacking him, but then again, he had enough detention as it was already.

'Why would I be angry?' Oliver growled, doing his best to focus on his spell and not to look at Davies. He would make sure they would have practice every day. Let's just see if Davies could ever find the opportunity to see Katie again then...

'I heard about the non-dating policy on your team, Wood. It's a bit pathetic don't you think? It's obvious Fred and Angelina like each other. And maybe there are other members on your team who are interested in dating one of the Quidditch players of Hogwarts as well... Seems a bit harsh, doesn't it?' Davies was still wearing that smug look on his face. Oliver was absolutely positive he was talking about Katie. So he was indeed into her then. He would make sure to stress on the non-dating policy more intensely. Who the hell did Davies think he was, stealing one of his Chasers, trying to take away her focus?

'My players are perfectly fine and focused. And don't even begin to think you have a shot with Katie, trust me, she can do way better than you.' Oliver snapped, looking at his watch. When was this lesson going to be over?

'Oh, she can do better than me, huh?' Roger said, suddenly not smiling anymore. 'Someone like yourself perhaps, Wood?'

Oliver stood up. 'Rubbish!' Luckily for him the bell just rang and he quickly grabbed his bag and walked out of class, ignoring Flitwick who was squeaking some homework at him and Tom who tried to catch up with him.

Oliver stormed through the hallways, making his way for the Gryffindor common room. Everyone was really getting on his nerves today. If that Davies thought he could even so much as _look _at his Chaser he was very wrong. Very wrong indeed.

Oliver stepped into the common room, climbing through the portrait hole. Fred and George were sitting in the corner by the window, playing Wizard's Chess.

'Bloody hell!' Fred called out as his Queen was smashed to pieces. 'This can't be right! They're all turning against me!'

George snorted. 'Please, you're just not as good as I am. Old news if you'd ask me.'

'Well, nobody's asking you anything,' Fred snapped.

Oliver watched the twins for a while, still angry with Davies and the detention and the match that was coming up and decided he had to act immediately. He walked over to his friends and took the last remaining seat at the table.

'Hello Oliver, here to be grumpy again?' George asked.

'Save the formalities. I need to speak to Fred.' Oliver said.

Fred sighed and dramatically threw his king down, making all of George's pieces dance over their victory. 'Save the formalities,' he repeated. 'You're such a good friend sometimes.' Fred angrily eyed George's chess pieces and took a sip of his pumpkin juice. 'What do you want?'

Oliver suddenly began to doubt whether this was a good idea or not. He knew he had been getting on his friends' nerves for quite some time now and to forbid Fred from seeing the girl he liked all of a sudden seemed a bit drastic and mean. 'You know what, never-' Oliver stopped mid-sentence as the portrait hole opened and he saw Katie and her friend Leanne entering the common room. She was wearing her school robes, but still they looked so much better on her than on anyone else. She was laughing at something Leanne had said and suddenly he was reminded why all of this was necessary.

'Er...' Oliver cleared his throat a bit awkwardly. 'Are you and Angelina dating?' he then asked.

George gave a low whistle between his teeth and Fred was giving Oliver a very angry look. 'You're not actually are going to try and forbid me from seeing her, are you?' Fred said.

That was exactly the reaction Oliver had expected. But he needed to stand his ground here, it was for the team's sake. 'I was just asking you if the two of you were dating. Because if you were, I would urgently ask you to stop doing so since it will reflect badly on all of us. We need to think about the Cup here.'

George slowly stood up. 'Time to leave,' he quickly said before he sprinted off.

Fred's eyes were mere slits now, looking straight at Oliver. 'What?' he hissed.

'Come on now,' Oliver said, a bit uncertain, 'we have discussed this before, right?'

'YOU AND YOUR QUIDDITCH!' Fred yelled as he stood up and made his chair fall down. The whole common room was quiet and everyone was looking at the two of them. 'You know Oliver, we all have put up with many of your rants and your mood swings without ever complaining! When are you going to wake up and realize that there is more to life than just Quidditch! You are so obsessed, you can't even see clearly anymore! How in Merlin's name do you even dare to ask such a thing of me, you're supposed to be my _friend!'_

Oliver himself was getting mad now as well. What the hell was Fred doing, yelling at him in front of all the Gryffindor students? And obsessed? Come on now...

'Well hello, Mr. Perfect!' Oliver yelled back sarcastically. 'I don't know whether you've noticed, but it's always you and your brother who are sabotaging practice, trying to be funny! You don't even realize how important it is to win this Cup! We owe it to everyone in this room! So that's what I'm asking of you. And if you were such a great friend, you'd know why this means so much to me!' Oliver pushed Fred aside and made his way through the common room to the steps towards his dorm. He could feel every eye piercing in the back of his head as he angrily climbed the stairs and slammed the door behind him. Oliver let himself fall down on his bed. He really wished he could use his headphones right now but those stupid electrical devices didn't work at Hogwarts.

It was 6 'o clock. He really didn't feel like having dinner, he might as well just try to sleep until it was time to head towards the Forbidden Forest for his detention.

As soon as he closed his eyes Oliver knew he wasn't going to be able to catch any sleep again. Fred's words were still plain in his head and he started feeling bad about the things he had said. It was a lot he was asking from his friend of course, but there was really no reason for Fred to be so brutal to him.

Of course he knew there were other things besides Quidditch, they just didn't seem so important right now. His father would have wanted him to focus. After all, he was the one who won the Cup four times as Gryffindor captain.

Oliver listened to the ticking off the rain against the windows. He could hear the common room empty as everyone headed towards the Great Hall for dinner. They would probably all be discussing him over there. The Quidditch maniac who had lost his mind.

The hours passed very slowly and Oliver was almost relieved once it was time for him to get up and head towards the Forbidden Forest for his detention. He was sure it would be no picnic, but everything was better than to be left alone with his thoughts at the moment.

It was still pouring outside, so Oliver grabbed his coat and headed outside. He was soaked immediately but he didn't really care, he was in a state as it was anyway. His feet sunk into the ground beneath him as he tried to make his way towards the Forest. He could only see a few metres ahead of him because of the heavy rain.

Once he had finally reached the edge of the Forest, he saw that Katie was already there, accompanied by Hagrid. He felt a weird jolt in his stomach. Maybe he should have gotten something to eat after all.

'Hi there, Wood, good to see yeh could make it,' Hagrid said. 'As you can see, Snape didn't feel like coming out here in the rain, so he left this job ter me.'

Oliver actually thought that was quite good news; Hagrid wouldn't let them entirely off the hook, but it was very likely to be more pleasant than one of Snape's detentions.

Katie came to stand next to Oliver. She was pouring wet as well, rain dripping from her clothes. 'Are you OK?' she asked, as she was eyeing Oliver. He wasn't surprised at her question, he probably looked like he was about to kill himself.

He quickly nodded and focussed his attention on Hagrid again. 'What do you want us to do, professor?' he asked. 'Or what does Snape want us to do?'

'Right,' Hagrid said. 'Well, we can all tell that it's not the best weather to be doing anything outside, but as Quidditch players I'm sure yeh can cope with it. Snape needs some ingredients out of the forest. I got the paper right here...' Hagrid reached in his pockets and held out a soaked wet piece of parchment. The ink was wiped out over the entire parchment and clearly impossible to read.

'Very well then...' Hagrid said awkwardly as he fumbled the piece of parchment and put it back in his pocket. 'That won't be of any help. You're going to have to do it by heart. Just go into the forest and see if yeh can find some things professor Snape could use in one of this potions, alright eh?'

Katie raised her eyebrows. 'So we just go in there and get some random plants? I don't know about Oliver, but I don't have any knowledge about plants whatsoever.'

'Ah, you'll manage,' Hagrid said. 'And Oliver won't be of any use fer yeh anyway. Professor Snape gave me strict orders to keep the two of you separated.'

Oliver sighed inwardly. Great. Not only did he have to search for some vague ingredients in the pouring rain, he was going to have to do it all by himself as well. He could have used some distraction.

'Right then, this should be fun,' Oliver said sarcastically. 'Let's get it over with then. At what time do you want us to get back?'

Hagrid looked at the watch that was hanging around his neck. 'About '10 o clock would be fine. I wouldn't want yer kids ter get sick right before the game Saturday. Now off yeh go!'

Katie gave Oliver an encouraging smile. 'Good luck, Captain,' she said. 'Wait for me at ten?'

Oliver nodded. 'I will. Good luck, Katie.' He really didn't want to, but he walked into the opposite direction, into the forest. Luckily the rain wasn't pouring down as hard as it did outside of the forest because of the trees, but it was very dark in there. Oliver had never really liked this forest, he had heard Ron Weasley tell the strangest stories about huge spiders and other creatures in it. Oliver ignited his wand and started searching for strange looking plants that might be useful in some sort of potion.

He recognized a purple flower he had once used for a potion to cure boils and picked it up. Time had never passed so slowly. Oliver kept hearing sounds that freaked him out and he kept thinking about the horrible day he had just had. He just needed to get some sleep and get this week over with already.

Once it was almost 10 'o clock, he started making his way back to the edge of the forest. He realized he had collected very few ingredients so he quickly plucked some random plants to go with it. Once Oliver reached the edge, he noticed that it had finally stopped raining. What a miracle that was. Hagrid was already waiting and Oliver handed over his bag filled with plants and flowers, most of them probably useless.

Katie arrived a few moments later, her bag obviously a lot fuller than his was.

'Alright kids, time ter head back then,' Hagrid said. 'I'll be sure ter give this to professor Snape.' He started making his way back to his small place where his dog Fang was probably waiting for him near the fire.

Oliver turned to look at Katie and saw that her clothes and hair had completely dried.

'It stopped raining,' he commented.

'Yes,' Katie said as she gave him a dazzling smile. 'And that is very good news!'

'How come?' Oliver asked.

'Because it gives me the perfect opportunity to show you something.'

'Show me something? I don't know if I'm really in the mood for anything at the moment, really.' Oliver said.

'Ah, but that's just it,' Katie replied. 'I noticed that. That's why I want to show it to you. Now, come on!' Katie started walking back into the forest again.

Oliver watched her in amazement. 'Wow, wait! You're going back in there? Why would you want to do that? I was just happy to get out!' He followed her anyway as he was starting to lose sight of her. What the hell was she planning? After a few metres in, he spotted her again. She was heading even deeper into the forest.

'Katie, are you mad? There are vile creatures in here, you know.'

Katie stopped to let Oliver catch up with her. 'I have nothing to be afraid of as long as I'm with you, right?'

Oliver laughed. 'Well, if that's what comforting you...'

'It is,' Katie said as she started walking again. 'Come on, we're almost there!'

The trees were getting bigger and bigger and it was getting darker with each step they took. Once it was almost impossible to walk, Katie took Oliver's hand and led the way. Despite the many years of Quidditch, Katie's hand still felt very soft and smooth and Oliver had to restrain himself from stroking it. What in the world was wrong with him lately?

They walked for another several minutes before Katie halted. Oliver immediately knew they had reached their destination. They were standing in front of an open field. It was a field full of white flowers that was surrounded by the big trees they had just emerged from. Oliver stood there just staring for a while, it was like something he'd never seen before.

'Beautiful, isn't it?' Katie whispered as she had let Oliver take in his surroundings. 'I have a feeling it's enchanted, look at all those flowers and the stars... Come on.' She was still holding Oliver's hand as she led him onto the field.

'How did you even discover this place?' Oliver asked, still amazed.

Katie let go off Oliver's hand in order to lie down and Oliver really wished that she hadn't. He quickly shook that thought and came to lie next to her. Stars were shining brightly over them.

'I don't know really...' Katie replied. 'I always come here when I feel bad. I discovered it when I was in my first year. I used to sneak into the forest all the time, just to get my head around things.'

Oliver chuckled. 'Dangerous way to get your head around things.'

He could see Katie smile in the corner of his eye. 'Yes, I guess it kind of is, but the forest has never frightened me. And it led me to this wonderful place. Anyway, I wanted to show you this because I know you're having a hard time, aren't you?'

Oliver swallowed. He actually was having a hard time. The pressure of the Cup was weighing so heavily on him and his friends were probably all angry at him. 'I kind of am,' he answered.

Katie turned her head to look at him. 'Do you want to talk about it?' she said as she gazed at him.

Oliver looked back at her, straight into her green eyes and he felt a shock go through his body again. This place sure as hell was beautiful, but so was the girl that took him here...

'I...' Oliver began, 'I just really need to win this Cup. It's not like it would be fun to do so, I _have _to.'

'But why do you feel like you have to?' Katie asked.

Oliver didn't even hesitate. 'Because of my father. He was Gryffindor captain and he was very good at it. I just want to make him proud, keep his name in honour. I know that sounds lame.'

Katie leaned on one elbow to look at him properly. 'Oliver listen to me,' she said. 'That is not lame at all. I saw some pictures of your father in the library, he seemed like a very great man. He won the cup four times, didn't he? That's impressive... I'm sure he was an exceptional player. Just like his son.'

Oliver smiled. 'Thanks, he really was. I'm just afraid I'm going to disappoint him and the rest of Gryffindor. I feel like such an idiot sometimes. And everyone is _really _getting on my nerves.'

'Oliver, you're not going to disappoint him!' Katie exclaimed. 'I don't see how you ever could. You are the best captain Gryffindor has seen in years! I'm sure he would be so proud of you. And the rest of Gryffindor is very happy with you as well. I know I am. Sure, we sometimes have to put up with your mood swings and stuff like that, but in the end it's totally worth it.'

'Mood swings?' Oliver laughed. 'You're making me sound like a pregnant lady.'

'That's because you look like a pregnant lady.'

'Ha! Is that so?' Oliver smiled as he watched the sky above him. It felt really good and natural talking to Katie, she had already lifted his spirits.

'And what about Fred...?' Katie asked carefully, laying her head down on the grass again.

Oliver sighed. Deep down he knew that Fred had every right to be angry at him. 'I asked him to stop seeing Angelina.'

Katie remained silent for a moment. 'You do know that it's not just a crush between them, right? Angelina is very much in love with him. Just don't tell any of them I ever said that, she'll kill me.'

'Right...' Oliver replied. 'I guess I kind of knew that. It was stupid anyway, I was acting on an impulse.'

'An impulse?'

Oliver didn't respond to that and decided to let it fly by. Fortunately, Katie didn't ask any further questions about it. He didn't really feel like telling her about what Davies had said to him that day in Charms class. They lay there for a while, staring at the sky above them.

'I know Astronomy isn't your favourite subject, but Jupiter is so beautiful tonight, don't you think?' Katie then said.

Oliver smiled. 'If by Jupiter you mean the great spot in the middle over there, then yeah. It's not that I don't like Astronomy, it's just that I'm extremely bad at it. And I hate being bad at something.'

'I've noticed,' Katie chuckled. 'I'm glad we could talk,' she added. 'I hope you can relax a bit now before the match.'

Oliver looked at his Chaser again. There was no denying the warm feeling inside anymore that she gave him every time she was around him. It was so nice of her to take him here with her. He really wanted to stay here with her, right there, for as long as they possibly could. He had seen a lot of magic in his life but that all seemed to fade as he stared into Katie's eyes again.

Oliver slowly got up and walked over to a spot at Katie's right which he had noticed immediately as they had arrived. In the midst of the field of white flowers, stood one red one. He gently plucked it and came to lie down next to Katie again.

He was done with holding back, who cared what weird things were going through his mind? All he knew was that there was no one else in this world he'd rather be with right now than Katie.

'Here,' he whispered as he held out the red flower for Katie. She took it and looked at him expectantly.

'For you are both exceptionally beautiful,' Oliver said.

Katie's lips broke into a broad smile and her cheeks flushed a bit as she admired the flower. She rested her head upon his chest. 'Thank you,' she whispered.

Oliver couldn't stop himself from grinning blissfully as the wonderful smell of Katie's hair reached him. He knew Fred would probably kill him if he saw them like this after what he had just said to him earlier that day. But right now in this moment, none of it mattered anymore. Not the Cup, not the fights, not the N.E.W.T's, none of it. It was sheer perfection.

'Hey Captain?' Katie said.

'Yes?'

'You're the only one I ever took out here. So I guess that makes you kind of exceptional too.'

Oliver could not recall a happier moment in his life.

**Review? :) **

**I know the ending's tacky, had to do it though! Promise to be quicker next time! X**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yesss, I'm back! So, it took a bit longer than I had planned but I was very busy with my finals. I'm in law school and we basically have to do everything at once. But let bygones be bygones, here's the next chapter! **

**I'm from Holland by the way, so anyone's who's following the Euro 2012 can understand that I can totally relate with Oliver in this chapter. It's the Hufflepuff chapter. And I hate losing too. **

**Oh, by the way, in case you were wondering: this is set in Harry's third year, Oliver is in his seventh and Katie in her fifth and Sirius Black is a sweetheart but not relevant in this story. And I lazily forgot the Malfoy thing and that Gryffindor suddenly has to play Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin. Forgive me, my kind readers. **

**To everyone who reviewed: thanks a million, I really appreciate it! :) Feel very free to repeat your actions!**

Chapter 7 

Oliver tried to sneak up the stairs towards his dormitory as quiet as possible, desperately hoping he wouldn't wake anyone so he wouldn't have to explain himself.

Just some moments ago, he had woken up in the middle of the woods because Katie had poked him. Right after their detention, Katie had taken him to that special place in the woods and they had fallen asleep. And now it was 6 AM. Oliver blushed again as he thought about how he had put his arms around Katie in his sleep. Merlin, that was embarrassing, he was supposed to be professional!

Oliver quietly opened the door and stepped into his room.

'Oliver Wood, where _the hell _have you been!' Tom's voice immediately called.

Oliver groaned. Of course, he couldn't catch a break. Not with Tom, anyway. He was like a watch dog. Or his mom.

'Detention,' Oliver whispered,' now be quiet, you're waking up Percy.'

'Already awake, bloody gits,' Percy grumbled from under his sheets.

'Detention? Don't give me that, it's 6 AM!'

Oliver tried to get in his bed and ignore Tom's comments. He quickly pulled the sheets over his head. 'Goodnight, Tom.'

'OH, HELL NO!' Tom yelled and Percy groaned. Oliver heard Tom getting up from his bed and walking over to Oliver. He pulled the sheets from over his head.

'Where have you been, Oliver?' Tom repeated.

'Just go to sleep already!' Percy snapped from his bed. 'Don't you know what time it is!' He pointed at the clock to support his words.

'I've had earlier practices,' Oliver replied and he immediately regretted it.

'Yes, because you're a mental person! Maybe my little brother is right about something for the first time in his life!' Percy said.

Oliver got up quickly. 'You take that back, Weasley!'

'I'm not really one to fight, Wood. After all, I am Head Boy. Now I suggest the both of you go to sleep or else I just might put you in detention.'

Detention? Oliver had to restrain himself from getting up and shaking some sense into Percy. He could be so full of himself. Oliver grinded his teeth and decided to use this opportunity to distract the attention from his whereabouts.

'Ha! Detention!' Tom mocked. Oliver sighed as he laid his head back in his pillow.

'Give it a rest, Tom,' he mumbled.

'That's right, Jones,' Percy then said. 'As Head Boy I have the authority to do so. I need to make sure there is order in the castle. Now I come to think of it, where _have _you been, Wood? You know you're not allowed to be wandering around the castle at night.'

Oliver couldn't believe how annoying this guy had become. Being so upfront about that precious badge of him. Served him right that Fred and George had manipulated the badge.

'I was out to see Penelope Clearwater, is that what you'd like to hear!' Oliver snapped. Wow, that was childish but he didn't even care. He just wanted to get rid of both Tom and Percy.

'What!' both Tom and Percy called out at the same time.

Percy was now getting up from his bed. He looked ridiculous in the red pyjamas which were too short for him. 'You went to see _Penelope?_' he hissed.

'Relax, Percy, I wasn't. Just go to sleep.'

'I don't believe you. I know you have been after her ever since the first day that I took interest in her!' Percy said.

Oliver couldn't help but laugh at that, which of course only made matters worse. Despite of the darkness in the room, Oliver could tell that Percy was looking considerably furious. Penelope Clearwater? Oh come on...

'Don't you laugh at me!' Percy was yelling now. Tom looked a bit taken aback and he quickly retreated to his bed in the corner of the room.

'This is a joke to you! I love her, alright! You'd better stay clear of her! I cannot believe that she is doing this to me, I thought what we had meant something to her as well...' His voice died away at the end of the sentence. Oliver actually felt a bit sorry for him. Maybe he had made him suffer a bit too much.

Oliver sighed. 'I wasn't out to see Penelope, OK? I was just saying that to annoy you, I'm sorry. I'm sure she's very fond of you as well.'

Percy was looking at him questioningly, obviously doubting his words. 'How do I know you're telling the truth?' he then said. 'You could easily be lying, I know you're not a very trustworthy person.'

'Because I was with Katie Bell, OK!' Oliver blurted out. Oh Merlin, _why_ did he have to say that?

'WHAT!' Tom, who had pretended to be sleeping again was on his feet now, grinning like a maniac. Percy seemed satisfied with his answer and got back to his bed.

'It's not a big deal, Tom,' Oliver said through gritted teeth. He was so sure he would be hearing this every minute for the rest of his life, if not longer, from now on. And he really didn't feel like talking to it about anyone since he wasn't sure what he was supposed to think about the whole Katie-situation himself. He really liked spending time with her and she could make him laugh and forget about everything else in the world like no one else could. But what did that even mean?

'Did something happen?' Tom was now standing beside his bed, eagerly looking at his best friend.

'You're such a girl sometimes,' Oliver replied as he turned his back to him.

'I'll take that as a 'yes'! Haha! I'm going to tell Fred and George!' Tom was already on his way out when Oliver stopped him.

'Tom, nothing happened! Get back here!'

Tom stopped in his tracks. He pointed his finger at Oliver warningly, 'Don't you lie to me, Oliver! I am your best friend and I have the right to know everything that is going on in your life!'

Oliver frowned. 'No, you don't! What gave you that idea? Just keep calm and go to sleep. We have to get up in an hour already, so do yourself a favour.'

'So if nothing happened, then what else could you possibly have been doing?' Tom said, obviously not convinced.

'We talked, then we fell asleep. The end. Goodnight, Tom.'

'Talked?' Oh, seriously, there was not stopping this guy, Oliver thought. 'What do you mean you talked? You had her all to yourself and all you did was talk? That's lame, man.'

'Jones, you are so stupid.' It seemed that Percy wasn't asleep either after all. 'He obviously likes the girl. When you really like someone, you don't go around taking advantage of them the first chance you get. You respect her and like to spend time with her. Not that you know what that could possibly mean.'

After that, it was quiet in the Gryffindor dormitory for the seventh years, each one of them pretending to be asleep but struggling with their own thoughts.

Oliver knew he would not be able to sleep after what Percy had just said. It hadn't even crossed Oliver's mind to make a move on Katie like that. She was his Chaser, it was already bad enough that he was thinking about her _all the time_. He couldn't help but smile as he recalled how beautiful Katie looked, lying in the field and how good she smelt as she laid her head on his chest. Despite his previous predictions, Oliver managed to fall asleep, grinning like a madman.

XXX

Some hours later, Oliver was walking towards the Great Hall after his lessons of the day had ended, followed by an eager Tom who had been stalking him all day.

'Just yes or no, mate,' Tom said for the hundredth time. 'Do you like her or not?'

'Tom, leave me alone. You're like an obsessed fan girl. I know I'm handsome but things are getting a bit out of hand now. Help me find my team members so I can tell them practice is half an hour earlier than planned.'

'Your team members? So you're going to talk to Katie?'

Oliver sighed. 'Well spotted, she is indeed a member of the Gryffindor team. Hey Harry, half past seven tonight! Be on time!'

Harry groaned and slammed his head on the table. That's the spirit.

Oliver had to admit he was getting a bit nervous now. He hadn't seen Katie all day and it had become quite obvious to him that he liked her a bit too much, way more than the other members on this team anyway. Or than anyone going to this school, really. And that could just become a serious problem, he didn't want to lose his credibility as a captain. It'd be best not to speak of the previous night again. Oliver and Tom reached the twins at the Gryffindor table. Oliver cleared his throat.

'Ah, look what the cat dragged in, George,' Fred said. 'It's our lovely little captain.'

So, he was still angry then. Oliver couldn't blame him, really. He would have to fix that later. 'Just letting you know that practice is half an hour earlier. Make sure you're on time.'

Before either of the twins could respond, Oliver started making his way towards his three Chasers who always seemed to be eating together.

'Aren't you joining the twins?' Oliver asked, irritated as he noticed Tom was still following him.

'Are you kidding me? I'm not missing your encounter with Katie! This is all you've ever given me in all these years, I have some catching up to do!' Tom said.

Oliver rolled his eyes at him. 'All I've ever given you? Thanks man, I enjoy your friendship as well. And _remember: _you shut up about last night. We accidentally fell asleep, there's nothing to it, OK? I don't want anyone to think I'm unprofessional.'

Katie looked up from her plate and saw Oliver. She smiled happily and waved. Oliver felt a wide grin spread across his face as he waved back. Tom punched his shoulder.

'Ouch!'

'Get a grip man!' Tom hissed. 'So much for the 'being professional' part.'

Oliver immediately wiped the grin of his face. Was he really that obvious? Merlin, maybe it would help if Katie's hair wasn't so shiny and wavy. He would have to make sure he didn't look at her too often.

'Good evening, ladies,' Tom said. 'Alicia, you're looking splendid tonight, did you have a haircut?'

Alicia giggled and blushed as she pulled a string of hair behind her ear. 'I actually did, Tom, thank you. You know, you're not so bad yourself.'

Tom gave her his special smile that Oliver recognized from every time he was hitting on a girl and leaned over the table. 'Well, maybe you could tell me all about your hairdresser sometime.'

'Ugh,' Oliver said as he pulled Tom away from over the table. 'Her hairdresser, Tom? You're really turning into a woman. And stop hitting on my Chasers!'

Tom grinned. 'Oh, I'm sorry, Ol, I know you have a weak spot for Chasers.'

'Don't you have somewhere to be?' Oliver asked through gritted teeth as Tom was still grinning at him. It was so obvious that he was enjoying this, Oliver felt like smacking him. Stupid supposed best friend, making him look like a fool. Well, not when it came to Quidditch, for Merlin's sake.

'What does he mean, Wood?' Angelina asked as she took a sip from her pumpkin juice.

'He means that I'm a Keeper,' Oliver said, avoiding Katie's gaze. 'Keepers are mostly involved with the Chasers while playing since they're supposed to block the shots of the Chasers. It is their job to-'

'We get it,' Angelina interrupted. 'So tell me, how was detention last night?' She was looking a bit too knowingly at him. _Why _did girls always have to tell each other everything?

'Practice at half past seven. Bye now.' He didn't know how fast he should get away from them. Tom was laughing now as he followed him and as they sat down Oliver didn't restrain himself this time from smacking him.

XXX

'Prepare,' Oliver said slowly as he walked from left to right in front of his team, 'for the hardest practice of your life. No mercy shall be shown. If you try to complain, I will make you pay for it. If you're not good enough, I will make you pay for it. If I don't see commitment in your eyes, I-'

'Will make us pay for it?' Alicia interrupted.

'Start running, Spinnet!' Oliver yelled. 'Five laps and counting!'

Alicia sighed, threw her broom aside and started running around the Quidditch pitch as the rest of the team watched her.

Oliver was glad it was their last practice before the game. He had every right to be strict and determined right now, they couldn't really blame him, right? And it would stop his Chasers from talking...

They practiced for nearly three hours in the pouring rain and despite his previous warnings, everyone was complaining now. Apparently their bones were hurting and someone couldn't feel his legs anymore. Weaklings. Oliver felt like he could go for another hour but he decided his team needed to get some rest in order for them to be fit for the match on Saturday.

'Alright everyone!' Oliver called, but only Harry who was near him could hear him from over the loud wind roaring in everyone's ears. Oliver flew down to the ground and the rest of the team soon followed him.

'Is it finally over then?' Katie asked hopefully.

'You know, that's a lot coming from her mouth, Oliver,' George said.

'Yeah, yeah, you shouldn't be whining this much, it was just a good old practice in the rain. Surely you guys are used to some rain by now? If you want sunshine, move to Africa. The Quidditch is terrible.'

His team was mumbling now and Oliver was sure half of it was very likely to be insults but he didn't really care. This is what he loved. He loved being a leader and he loved being out on the field. He could win this year, he could feel it, he could almost touch the silver Cup that was waiting for him...

'Can we go?' Harry asked. 'I have never wished to be asleep more badly than right now.'

Oliver nodded. 'Yes. Yes, you may go. And make sure you get enough rest. I'll be seeing you on Saturday then.'

Everyone started walking towards the changing rooms but Oliver quickly got hold of Fred's arm. 'Fred, wait,' he said. 'Can I talk to you for a minute?'

Fred glared at him. 'You're making me stand here in the rain even longer? Haven't you tortured me enough already, Oliver?'

'It will only take a minute, at least, I hope it will.' Oliver said.

'Fine,' Fred tossed his broom away. 'Fire away then.'

OK, er, I'm not good at this,' Oliver said truthfully. It was not that he hated to admit that he felt sorry, he hated to admit when he was wrong about something.

'Go on,' Fred said dully. 'I think it's against school policy to keep me out here all night.'

'Right. Well, I wanted to apologize for what I said the other day. And... what I asked you.' Oliver said, eyeing Fred carefully. His face didn't show any reaction though, so he continued. 'I thought about it and you were right. I went out of line. Your love life is none of my business, I was just concerned. Because of Quidditch. Of course because of Quidditch because you were kind of right about that part too. I may just take things a bit too far sometimes. So, there you have it: I'm sorry. I was wrong. You can date Angelina if you wish to do so, just please promise me that you'll be discrete about it.'

Fred was silent for a moment. He then looked up at Oliver and grinned. 'Say that again, will you?'

'What?' Oliver asked suspiciously, 'You can date Angelina?'

'Oh no, Ollie, you know what part I mean.'

Oliver shot him a death glare. Bloody git, of course he had to push it. 'I was wrong,' he grunted. 'Do you want me to spell it for you?'

'Nah, I'm good,' Fred said, satisfied. 'And I'm sorry too, man. I said some things that weren't cool either. So are we good again?'

'Yes,' Oliver held out his hand and his friend shook it. They began walking towards the dressing room together, their brooms over their shoulder.

'Just promise me to _never _pull this kind of practice again.'

'You know I don't make promises I can't keep.'

'Git.'

XXX

Game Day. Oliver was standing in front of the doors that would soon open to let him and his team enter the Quidditch pitch. He could already feel the crowd roaring outside and the rain was slamming on the doors in front of him. It was pouring outside and the wind was freezing cold. He had just been unable to give his team a pep talk. All he could manage was some weird sound coming out of his throat and desperate looks. They all seemed to be taking Hufflepuff lightly. His Chasers kept drooling and giggling over that Cedric Diggory, as if there was nothing more to him than good looks. Oliver had seen him, the guy was fast. Harry needed to be on his best today.

It was almost time. Oliver could feel his heart pounding in his chest and the pleasant excitement he felt in his stomach right before every match was beginning to weigh heavy on him.

'We can do this,' Oliver whispered to himself. 'We have the best team in school, we deserve to win.' Someone behind him put his hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Right at that moment, the doors opened and the Gryffindor team flew out onto the Quidditch field.

Oliver looked around as he took in the scene evolving around him. The Hufflepuff players were barely visible in these weather conditions, even though they were wearing bright yellow robes. Thunder and lightning were striking now too, making everything seem even more threatening.

'Captains, shake hands!' Madam Hooch called and Oliver made his way over to her. He nodded at Cedric Diggory as he shook his hand, the only other Captain in Hogwarts he actually liked and of whom he knew was a good sport. It was however physically impossible for him to crack a smile. _He had to win this._ Madam Hooch threw the Quaffle in the air and blew her whistle. The game had started.

A blur. That was probably the best way to describe the game. Oliver couldn't see a single thing and he noticed the other team members were struggling too. He let through some goals and got extremely irritated. They were still ahead of Hufflepuf though.

After some time, Oliver noticed it was extremely cold. Too cold for this time of the year. He quickly shook that thought as he saved a throw from a Hufflepuf Chaser at the right hoop.

'What's the score?' Oliver yelled at George a few moments later as he flew past him.

'Can't really tell!' George yelled back. 'We're fifty points ahead, I think!'

Oliver sighed. This wasn't working. Something needed to be done quickly. He waved over at Madam Hooch who only noticed after a couple of minutes and asked for a time out. Oliver ordered his team to land, he felt himself getting more desperate by the minute.

'We're fifty point ahead, but if we don't catch that Snitch soon, we'll still be playing long after midnight!' Oliver yelled.

Harry was complaining about his glasses and about how he couldn't see a thing when Hermione Granger walked over to them. She took Harry's glasses and mumbled 'nonpluvius'. The rain seemed to be bouncing of the glasses now.

Oliver looked at Hermione in a whole different light. He had always thought she was a bit of a show off but he had been wrong... What a wonderful, _wonderful _girl.

'Brilliant!' he yelled hoarsely.

They definitely had a shot at winning now. 'OK team, let's do this!' Oliver yelled as everyone flew back into the air again.

They were only back in the air for a few minutes when Oliver saw the thing he had dreaded the most. Cedric Diggory was racing through the air, chasing the glistening golden Snitch while Harry was hanging somewhere over in the middle of the field, doing nothing.

'Harry!' Oliver called desperately, 'Harry, behind you!'

Harry turned around and caught sight of Diggory who was flying towards him and quickly joined in on the race.

Oliver watched the two of them anxiously as he felt a cold shiver going through his body. Something was wrong. He all of a sudden felt extremely miserable and the raging sounds of the wind and the crowd seemed to be less audible.

Oliver looked up and saw the hooded figures flying high above them, right where Cedric and Harry had been headed to. The next moment, Harry was falling to the ground and Oliver looked at Cedric Diggory in horror. Cedric was waving the Snitch in his hand enthusiastically but then quickly stopped smiling as he saw Harry lying on the ground.

_No. _Oliver thought. _This cannot be happening. _He made his way to the ground where everyone was now gathered around an unconscious Harry Potter. His Nimbus 2000 drifted off in the wind and Oliver could just make out the Whomping Willow shattering it to pieces.

'I don't want it like this!' Cedric told Madam Hooch, who was wearing a shocked and angry look on her face. 'This is not well-deserved, I want a rematch!'

Madam Hooch sadly shook her head. 'Dementors...' she said, obviously disgusted. 'I'm sorry mister Diggory, but I'm afraid we can't do that. Congratulations, Hufflepuff is the winner.'

_Hufflepuff is the winner. _Oliver felt like his whole body had turned into ice. They had lost. They had practiced so hard and played so well and still they had lost. Against Hufflepuff. There you had it. It was over. He would never be able to win the Cup his father had held high above his head several times. He had failed.

'Oliver?' George asked, but he could barely hear him. 'Oliver, are you alright? Are you coming to the hospital wing?'

Oliver swallowed. Maybe he could just collapse right here, right on the field. Everyone had just witnessed his downfall already, so what would it matter? He then looked at his Seeker who was being lifted as they started carrying him towards the castle.

'Will he be alright?' he asked no one in particular.

'He's suffered worse,' Madam Hooch answered. 'Listen Wood, I am very sorry about-'

'That's quite alright.' Oliver broke her off, not wanting to hear it. 'Rules are rules. I'll be in the showers.'

His feet felt like lead as he made the longest walk towards the dressing rooms ever. A loud thunder came through but it was not as loud as the voices in his head, telling him he was a failure, that he let his father down, that he let the whole Gryffindor House down. Rain was dripping of his clothes and off his hair as he entered the changing rooms, leaving behind a mud trail on the white floor. The rest of his team was off with Harry to the Hospital Wing.

Oliver didn't even bother to undress as he turned the hot shower on. He didn't close the curtain and sat down on the floor, letting the hot water warm him up. He had always been a bad loser. But this time, it actually physically hurt. There was so much more to it for him than just the joy of winning a simple match.

Water that was brown from the mud disappeared in the drain. Oliver's head was pounding. This was all his fault. He was a terrible, terrible Captain.

'I thought I'd find you here,' a voice called.

Oliver looked up. Katie Bell was smiling sadly at him, covered in mud and soaking wet as well. 'Mind if I join you?'

Oliver shrugged. 'Nothing seems to mind anymore.'

Katie sighed heavily and came to sit down next to him.

'This is a man's shower, you know,' Oliver said.

Katie ignored him. 'You feel like punishing yourself, don't you? You're beating yourself up over this.'

'Well, of course I'm beating myself up over this, Katie!' Oliver yelled. 'We lost! Against Hufflepuff! There is no chance in hell for us to win the Cup now!'

Katie stayed silent for a moment as she let the hot water clean her and her robes.

'It's not your fault,' she then said. 'No one's to blame, really. Those Dementors were not supposed to be there. It's not fair.'

'Of course it's not fair,' Oliver said, still feeling the pain in his chest from the lost match. 'But if anyone's to blame, it's me. I am responsible for this team. I should have seen it coming. I could have cast a Patronus, I should have done _anything!_'

'Oliver, listen to me,' Katie said as she took his face into both her hands. 'There is nothing in this whole world that you possibly could have done. You could not have expected those Dementors. What's done is done. We'll just focus on the next match. There's still hope.'

Oliver shook his head, feeling desperate and actually wanting to cry. 'There's no hope left,' he said miserably. 'I failed.'

'Now _that,'_ Katie said, 'I will not have!' She quickly got up her feet. 'Get up!' She ordered Oliver.

Oliver looked at her and was shocked at the angry expression on her face so he quickly followed her orders.

'You,' Katie pricked her finger into Oliver's chest, 'You are the finest Captain Gryffindor has ever known. So you better start acting like one! It's true that we've lost against the weakest team. But that does not mean we are out! We have to fight! If there's one thing you've ever taught us, it is to fight! We can still beat all the other teams, you know we have the best team! But we can only do that if _you _still believe in us.'

Oliver opened his mouth to say something but Katie slapped her hand in front of it. 'I'm not done yet. If you ever tell me again that you supposedly failed, I will personally kick you and beat you up until you won't be able to walk for weeks! And you can't just sit around in the shower feeling sorry for yourself! We are a team and your Seeker is badly injured so you had better check on him later! Now, do you still want this or what!'

Katie was panting now, looking fiercely at Oliver.

Oliver stared at her in disbelief. She was absolutely right. And her telling him these things here, being so passionate about it, fire shooting from her eyes made him realize something terrifying. Maybe he could have seen it coming, but as he stared at Katie he had never felt more certain about anything in his life.

He was irrevocably in love with this soaking wet girl. The girl that happened to be on the same team as he was.

'I asked you a question, Wood,' Katie said. 'Do you want this or not?'

Oh yes, he wanted this.

Before he even realized what he was doing he stepped forward and put his hand around Katie's neck, looking into her eyes.

'Yes,' he then said, as he closed the gap between them and pressed his lips against hers for the first time. It felt so wonderfully good, so extraordinary special that Oliver even forgot about their loss over Hufflepuff for some time. Katie was kissing him back, fumbling her fingers through his hair while the hot shower was still running. The explosions in Oliver's chest were almost too much to handle, he should have done this so much sooner.

Guess that's why they call it fireworks.

**That's that! Liked it? Please let me know and I'll be back soon! **


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